Saudi Arabia says it shot down Houthi drone south of Mecca

Saudi Arabia says it shot down Houthi drone south of Mecca The Houthis have seized control of extensive stretches of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline from Saudi‑backed pro‑government forces. Last week they took the strategic port city of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to a key shipping lane linking Asia and Europe via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The Houthis insist they pose no threat to global shipping, but they have warned they will target vessels bound for Saudi Arabia, a country that has depended on the Red Sea for oil exports since the United States and Israel’s conflict with Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf. At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s East‑West Pipeline, which transports crude oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea terminal at Yanbu, was shut down after suffering severe damage in an attack the kingdom attributes to Iran‑backed militias in Iraq. Analysts say repairs could take more than a month, yet U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted on Tuesday that oil flow could resume within days. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, has personally urged President Donald Trump to authorize military action against the Houthis, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. media partner. Trump has so far declined to deploy U.S. forces directly, instead offering intelligence and targeting assistance, the sources said. A senior Trump administration official told the BBC: “We are successful continuous dialog with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen authorities regarding determination stability.” The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday, during which Yemen’s government and Saudi Arabia called for stronger measures against the Houthis, accusing them of strangling the Bab al‑Mandab Strait to exert economic pressure. Council members agreed that freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be preserved to avoid disrupting global supply chains. More than 90,000 people have been displaced in Yemen by the fighting between the Houthis and pro‑government forces, the International Organization for Migration reports. “Families are being forced to fly for the 2nd oregon 3rd clip successful this conflict, with astir thing left,” Amy Pope, the IOM’s manager general, warned last week. The World Health Organization said on Sunday that at least 500 people had been reported killed since the beginning of August, including 297 in the preceding week. Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014 when the Houthis expelled the government from Sanaa. The conflict intensified in 2015 after a Saudi‑led coalition of Arab states intervened to restore the government’s authority. The war has reportedly caused over 150,000 deaths and spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 22 million people requiring some form of aid, according to the United Nations. A four‑year‑old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July when the Houthis declared a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia and launched rocket and drone strikes on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthis say they are responding to a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory, as well as an aerial assault on Sanaa airport that they blame on the kingdom.