Yemen accuses Iran of arming Huthis

Aden : The Yemeni government yesterday accused Iran of supplying Huthi rebels with drones used for cross-border attacks into Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh said Wednesday it had shot down two drones in the south of the kingdom as well as intercepting ballistic missiles fired from rebel-held parts of Yemen, the latest in a series of similar incidents.

The Saudi-backed government said in a statement Saturday that the drones are “made in Iran”.

It added that Yemen’s military did not possess such aircraft and it was “impossible to manufacture them locally”.

Iran backs the Huthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military coalition to intervene against the rebels the following year. But Tehran has repeatedly denied arming the rebels, which would violate a United Nations weapons embargo slapped on Yemen in 2015.

Riyadh said its air defences between Wednesday and Friday intercepted five ballistic missiles and two drones launched from rebel-held northern Yemen.

Saudi Arabia in March 2015 launched a coalition of Arab states to restore the country’s government to power.