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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region on Wednesday condemned “in the strongest terms” the targeting of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, expressing full solidarity with Riyadh. Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government accused the Iran-backed Ansarullah Movement, better known as the Houthis, of attempting a drone attack on Islam's holiest city.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) foreign relations department said in a statement that Erbil “condemns in the strongest terms the targeting of Saudi Arabia with drones and the attempt to target the Holy City of Mecca,” censuring it as “a grave threat.”
“We affirm that the security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia are a fundamental necessity for the security and stability of the region, and that any aggression targeting its territory or endangering civilians is wholly unacceptable and condemned,” the statement added.
The Region's foreign relations department further warned that the targeting of the city, which holds “immense religious and spiritual significance to Muslims around the world, represents an extremely serious development that threatens the sanctity of holy sites and the safety of the guests of God [pilgrims], and demands a clear and unequivocal condemnation.”
Erbil expressed its “full solidarity” with Riyadh, including its right to protect “its security, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens, residents, and guests,” and emphasized its support for “all efforts aimed at consolidating security, peace, and stability in the region.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Major General Turki al-Malki, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said that Riyadh's air defense forces “intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone launched by the Houthi terrorist militia before it entered the prohibited airspace of the Holy City of Mecca.”
The security of Islam's holy sites in Saudi Arabia and the safety of pilgrims is “a red line,” Malki affirmed, stressing that “the Coalition Joint Forces Command will not hesitate to take all necessary and deterrent measures against the Houthi terrorist militia and its hostile and terrorist conduct.”
For its part, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the 57-member body of Muslim-majority states, condemned “the criminal attacks launched by the Houthi group against the city of Mecca and the Medina region,” saying the attacks “terrorize civilians, violate the sanctity of holy sites and mosques, and provoke the sentiments of Muslims worldwide.”
“The acts perpetrated by the Houthi terrorist militia against holy sites, mosques, and civilian infrastructure constitute terrorism incompatible with Islamic values and international norms, principles, and law,” the OIC added, emphasizing that “violations of the sanctity of holy sites represent a transgression that cannot be accepted or tolerated, and that those responsible must be deterred.”
The Houthis have yet to respond to the accusations.
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