Sudan Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned an alleged
missile attack by Yemen's Shia Houthi militia on Mecca as "a clear
violation of the dignity of the sacred land".
Those kinds of incidents could never serve Yemen's cause but
rather provoke the feelings of Muslims, the ministry said in a
statement. "Sudan takes sides with Saudi Arabia," it added.
The denunciation came in response to claims by the Kingdom that
it had intercepted a "ballistic missile" 65 kilometers (40 miles)
from Mecca that was been fired by the militia.
The official Saudi Press Agency said a Saudi-led coalition
commander said the missile was fired from Yemen’s northeastern
Saada province, a traditional Houthi stronghold.
The coalition responded by "targeting the area from which the
missile was fired," the commander said without elaborating.
A Houthi spokesman denied responsibility for the alleged missile
attack.
"We have not targeted any civilian establishments or holy sites
during this conflict," Mohamed Abdulsalam said in a statement
broadcast Friday by the Houthi-linked Al-Maseera satellite
television channel.
Mecca is "dear to the hearts of all Muslims and Yemenis", he
said.
He added that claims that Houthi militiamen intentionally
targeted Mecca"are a base attempt to incite Muslim sentiments … and
justify the violations and blockades" imposed by the Saudi-led
coalition on Houthi-held cities in Yemen.
The coalition previously accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca
with ballistic missiles fired from Yemen and said earlier this
month that it had successfully intercepted a missile fired at Mecca
by Houthi militiamen.
Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the
Houthis and their allies overran the capital, Sanaa, and other
parts of the country, forcing members of Yemen’s Saudi-backed
government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.
The conflict escalated in March of last year when Saudi Arabia
and its Sunni-Muslim allies launched a massive military campaign
aimed at reversing Houthi gains in Yemen and restoring the
country’s embattled government.