The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned repeated attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi fighters on Saudi Arabia and pledged support for the kingdom.
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Council → condemn → kingdom
The political and economic bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates issued a statement on Sunday, shortly after their foreign ministers’ meeting in Manama, Bahrain.
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that → include → Manama
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Egypt → provide → Houthis
The statement said an attack on any member affected all six, invoking a joint defence agreement and backing Saudi Arabia’s right to protect itself.
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attack → say → itself
The condemnation came as the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis reported shooting down two drones near Riyadh and in Saudi Arabia‘s Eastern Province early on Sunday.
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coalition → come → Sunday
The coalition said another drone had been intercepted near the capital hours earlier, but did not identify who launched it.
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who → say → it
Gulf ministers accused the Houthis of carrying out deadly strikes on civilian airports and vital facilities.
They also pressed for tighter enforcement of a United Nations arms embargo against the group and urged countries to formally designate it “a terrorist organisation”.
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They → accuse → it
The ministers welcomed an October 15 statement from the UN Security Council (UNSC), the body responsible for maintaining international peace, which condemned Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and threats to Red Sea shipping.
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which → welcome → shipping
Yemen’s internationally recognised government separately appealed to the UNSC to act against Houthi attacks on homes and state facilities.
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government → recognise → homes
In letters addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UNSC’s president for October, Aglaia Balta, the Yemeni government cited an attack on the presidential palace in Aden, where the government is temporarily based.
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government → address → Aden
Separately on Sunday, UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud in Abu Dhabi to discuss regional security, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported.
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agency → meet → security
Meanwhile, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces press offensives on several fronts.
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forces → back → fronts
The Yemeni military said the Houthis fired missiles towards the central city of Marib on Sunday, while government troops reported gains in Taiz, further south.
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troops → say → Taiz
Government-aligned commanders said eight soldiers died in fighting in Lahij province on Saturday.
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soldiers → align → Saturday
Government forces also claimed to have killed 12 Houthi fighters in southern Taiz, figures that could not be independently confirmed.
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that → claim → figures
This latest phase of the war followed Houthi gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast last month.
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phase → follow → coast
Government forces launched a counteroffensive intended to recapture territory from the Houthis, who seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
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who → launch → 2014
Civilians face deepening shortages
The fighting has uprooted more than 233,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration, the UN’s migration agency.
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fighting → face → Migration
About 121,000 are in Taiz province, where supply routes have been disrupted by the fighting.
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routes → disrupt → fighting
Al Jazeera’s Hadeel al-Yamani, reporting from Taiz, said cooking gas was unavailable and food stocks were dwindling as Houthi forces blocked supplies through the city’s western entrance.
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forces → report → entrance
A local office tracking the siege said food prices had risen fivefold.
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prices → track → siege
The World Health Organization, the UN health agency, warned that Taiz’s 12 hospitals had fuel for just four more days and had run out of surgical supplies.
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hospitals → warn → supplies
Oxygen and medicines were also critically scarce as the city struggled with a cholera outbreak.
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city → struggle → outbreak
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