The death of a fourth Bahraini soldier... the repercussions of an attack by Iran’s arm on the Saudi border
English - Sunday 01 October 2023 الساعة 03:32 pm
Sanaa, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Bahrain announced on Friday evening that a fourth soldier in its unit participating in the Saudi-led Arab coalition died of wounds he sustained during the attack launched by the Houthi militia, an arm of Iran, on the Saudi border last week.
The General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force mourned, "First Lieutenant Hamad Khalifa Al-Kubaisi... succumbed to his serious injuries as a result of the treacherous Houthi hostile attack that took place on the morning of Monday, 9/25/2023."
The Kingdom of Bahrain announced the killing of three of its soldiers stationed near the Saudi-Yemeni border, and accused Iran's arm in Yemen of carrying out drone attacks that claimed the lives of these soldiers.
The General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force said in the obituary statement: “The attack occurred while the martyr was performing his sacred national duty within the coalition forces, the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, participating in operations to restore hope and stationed on the southern border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The unprovoked Houthi militia attack on the southern border of Saudi Arabia led to regional and international reactions denouncing and condemning this attack, as it was condemned by the Arab countries, the United States, the United Nations, France, Britain, and Germany. The attack was considered on a wide regional and international scale as a serious threat to the progress of peace talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Houthi militia, whose delegation returned from Riyadh the week before last after a round of talks that lasted 5 days.
It was reported that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain discussed the repercussions of the Houthi attack on the southern border of Saudi Arabia during the visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, who recently visited Manama for this purpose.
On Friday, members of the UN Security Council condemned the Houthi attack on the southern border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the middle of last week. The Council said in a statement of condemnation: The members of the Security Council “strongly condemn the horrific and escalating drone attack, attributed to the Houthis, on members of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Bahrain operating within the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, on the southern border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The Security Council considered this attack “a serious threat to the peace process and regional stability, including in Yemen.” Security Council members called on the Houthis to end all terrorist attacks, and reiterated concern about the targeting of civilian infrastructure in cities located on the southern border of Saudi Arabia.
The members of the Security Council stressed that any escalation would only exacerbate the suffering of the Yemeni people.
They reaffirmed "the need to take decisive steps towards a sustainable ceasefire" and affirmed their continued strong support for efforts to reach a political settlement and ultimately end the suffering of the Yemeni people. They reaffirmed their support for UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg in his efforts to reach a negotiated and comprehensive political settlement led and owned by the Yemenis on the basis of agreed terms of reference and in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions.
Observers believe that this attack would negatively impact the ongoing talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi militia, and would also affect confidence-building measures between Saudi Arabia and Iran after the agreement they reached under the auspices of China. Observers link what was stated in the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s statement about the recent attack to its implicit accusation of Iran being lenient in pressuring the Houthi militia to stop its attacks on the Kingdom. The statement said that the Kingdom "renews its position calling for stopping the continued flow of weapons to the terrorist Houthi militia, preventing their export into Yemen, and ensuring that they do not violate United Nations resolutions."
Observers expect that the coming days will witness more political repercussions of this attack, and they have not ruled out the occurrence of military repercussions as well, especially after the statement of the Arab coalition spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, in which he said that the coalition reserves the right to respond to this attack at the appropriate time and place.
