Yemen’s popular resistance movement Ansarullah has reiterated Sana’a’s rejection of Saudi Arabia’s allegations of Yemeni Armed Forces’ threatening to target holy sites in the Saudi city of Mecca.
“Yemenis are the true defenders of holy sites,” Hizam al-Asad, a member of Ansarullah’s Political Bureau, said on Wednesday.
He denounced Riyadh for trying to mislead public opinion, adding that Yemen’s Armed Forces were committed to striking military bases, oil facilities, and vital centers on Saudi territory during their retaliatory operations.
The Yemeni official also downplayed the kingdom’s efforts at preventing Sana’a from continuing the retaliatory strikes.
The ultimate objectives of the strikes are to “end the [Saudi] military aggression” and “lift the comprehensive blockade” imposed on the Yemeni people by Riyadh, he noted.
In similar remarks, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, another member of Ansarullah’s Political Bureau, rejected such accusations leveled against Yemen.
Responding to unfounded propaganda by media outlets affiliated with Riyadh, al-Bukhaiti categorically rejected a “big lie” fabricated by the Saudi state to cover up its successive military defeats.
He said the Yemeni people and government considered themselves to be at the forefront of defending Islamic holy sites, adding that it was illogical to make such claims about a movement committed to defending Muslims.
A Yemeni military source had earlier likewise categorically denied any threat against Mecca or other holy sites. “We categorically dismiss the existence of any threat from Yemen targeting the holy city of Mecca or any other holy sites.”
The source, speaking to the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), said the claims were part of a Saudi propaganda campaign aimed at tarnishing Yemen’s image.
In July, Saudi Arabia intensified its years-long siege of Yemen and attacked facilities at Sana’a’s main airport. Yemen said it would expand its reprisal in response to force an end to the siege, which has imposed heavy economic and human costs on the country since 2015.