JUST weeks after its formation, the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement faces its first challenge: the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi militia. The rebel group has struck Saudi air bases and key oil facilities with missiles and drones, while the kingdom has intensified air strikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen. The Houthis have also targeted Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The escalation began in mid-July, when the Houthis formally declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting Saudi-flagged shipping, after Yemeni government forces attacked a flight from Iran at Sana’a airport. The Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2014. The violence subsided after the warring sides reached an internationally brokered ceasefire in 2022, but flared up again after the July incident when the militia broke the truce, declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and began attacking Saudi vessels. Its ultimate aim is to drive Saudi Arabia out of Yemen and take full control of the territory. This latest escalation has widened the conflict in West Asia, even as America’s war with Iran grinds on with no end in sight.
