The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthis accused the rebels on Wednesday of targeting Islam's holy city Mecca, sparking outrage across the Muslim world and deepening the conflict roiling the region. Fresh fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government has dragged in Riyadh, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on the kingdom and targeting its ships in the Red Sea.
Last week's lightning offensive saw the group seize control of the entirety of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports as the wider Middle East war chokes off the Strait of Hormuz strategic shipping route.
The Houthis swiftly rejected as a "lie" Riyadh's report that it shot down a drone from the rebels heading towards the Saudi city of Mecca, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year. "The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone," Hazem al-Assad from the Houthis' politburo wrote on X.
The Saudi coalition vowed retaliation, warning that the security of holy sites was a "red line". "The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the Terrorist Houthi Militia," the coalition said in a statement shared by spokesman Turki al-Maliki on X.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation -- a bloc of 57 Muslim countries -- condemned the "heinous" attack. Saudi Arabia had issued brief alerts on Tuesday over possible attacks in Mecca and across swathes of the kingdom's south, which borders Yemen.
The alerts, including the first one issued in Mecca since the Middle East war erupted in February, came a day after a wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen wounded 13 people in the kingdom's south. Fighting flared in July when the Houthis, who have for years controlled swathes of northern Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive against Yemeni government forces.
The conflict in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country has forced 82,000 people to flee their homes since the start of September, according to the United Nations. Yemen's permanent representative at the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, said Yemenis were fighting to restore "national institutions across every inch of their land", and called on the international community to take action against the Houthis.
Yemen's plea came as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for free navigation in the Red Sea following the Houthi's offensive in the vital waterway. De facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Tuesday for "ensuring the freedom and security of maritime navigation" through the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab -- which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, the Egyptian presidency said.
The revival of Yemen's civil war, dormant since 2022, has left Riyadh rushing to respond. US media reported last week that the Saudi crown prince made a personal request to President Donald Trump for US intervention, but was turned down. The Houthis have insisted that there is no threat to navigation in the Bab al-Mandab except for Saudi vessels.
Any attacks in the waterway are likely to make it less attractive to shippers. Disruption in the strait could cause Egypt to feel the pinch too, as the Red Sea serves as the gateway to the Suez Canal, upon which Cairo relies for crucial foreign revenue.
Canal revenues are currently around half of what they were before the Houthis first started attacking Red Sea shipping in 2023, a campaign they said was in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. On Tuesday, Qatar warned of dire consequences if Bab al-Mandab was closed, saying it would be "catastrophic for the entire world".
The Houthis have also targeted oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude exporter, helping push global prices above the $100-a-barrel threshold. The Saudi-led coalition said it would deal with the attacks "firmly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom", and would take "all necessary operational measures to deter this...
hostile and extremist approach". Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Tuesday that Saudi Arabia launched 52 airstrikes on Yemen over the past 24 hours, accusing it of targeting civilian sites, including schools and bridges. But Riyadh's strikes have failed to reverse the group's gains.
A US military task force is working to enhance intelligence-sharing and planning assistance for Saudi forces as they face attacks, a US official told AFP on Tuesday.