UNSC condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

New York (Web Desk): The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday strongly denounced the intensifying Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, marking an unusual display of consensus among the UN’s highest body.

"The members of the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children," said the rotating president of the Council, French UN envoy Jerome Bonnafont, delivering a joint statement.

Separately, Yemeni government troops announced that they had captured the strategically important Numan mountain range in Lahj province after engaging in clashes with Houthi fighters.

According to the Yemeni army’s media centre, government forces, with support from the Popular Resistance, secured the mountain range overlooking the Al-Wazi’iyah and Al-Mudarabah districts.
The media centre reported that Houthi fighters pulled back from the area after suffering significant casualties and losing military equipment.

The Nation’s Shield Forces also said that their troops, supported by the Giants Brigades and local tribesmen, had taken the peak of Jabal Numan as well as the nearby Dar al-Kafir position during a swift military offensive.

The force said the operation was launched after an overnight infiltration, followed by the surrounding of the Houthi position and an attack at dawn. The assault forced the fighters to retreat, leaving weapons and ammunition behind.

It said Jabal Numan holds major strategic importance because of its elevated position over supply routes linking Al-Wazi’iyah with Al-Mudarabah. The Houthis had reportedly used the location to observe the surrounding area and launch shelling against nearby villages and military positions.

The force added that securing the mountain summit would strengthen the protection of villages in Wadi Al-Mudarabah and areas on the outskirts of Al-Wazi’iyah, while also lowering the risk of Houthi shelling and blocking an important route used for infiltration.

The Houthis have not yet issued an immediate response to the claims made by the Yemeni government forces.

Meanwhile, clashes have grown more intense in recent weeks along the front lines stretching between Taiz and Lahj provinces.