UN Security Council condemns terrorist attacks on UAE by Yemen’s Houthis

United Nations, United States: The UN Security Council unanimously condemned the deadly attacks on Abu Dhabi by Yemen’s Al Houthi militia as “heinous terrorist attacks” and called to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The declaration on the Houthis came after missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed rebels near oil storage facilities in Abu Dhabi left two Indians and a Pakistani dead.

Police said “small flying objects” were found at both sites, pointing to a deliberate attack using drones — a hallmark of the Houthis.

Six civilians were injured in the attacks.

“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist attacks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, 17 January, as well as in other sites in Saudi Arabia,” the council said.

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”

The statement said the attacks were claimed by the Houthis, and took a strong stance by labelling them as "terrorist."

Clear threat to global community

Earlier during a closed meeting of the Security Council, Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, presented a classified briefing on Houthi terrorist attacks.

Ambassador Nusseibeh was joined by an official from the UAE Armed Forces. Following the conclusion of the meeting, the Council issued a press statement condemning the Houthi terrorist attacks that targeted the UAE, as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The press statement emphasized the need to hold the Houthis accountable for these acts of terrorism and urged all states to cooperate with the UAE government to do so.

“Today, the Council has spoken with one voice that this egregious aggression by the Houthis is a clear threat to the international community,” said Lana Nusseibeh.

“These terrorist attacks did not only threaten the lives of UAE citizens, but also the citizens of every UN member state who have made the UAE their home. It is essential that the Security Council and the international community hold the terrorist Houthi militias to account for these crimes and to prevent future atrocities.”

On 18 January, the UAE had submitted a letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council requesting a meeting of the Council to address the Houthi terrorist attacks.

At 10am UAE time on January 17, Houthi militias targeted the Musaffah ICAD 3 area and the new construction area at Abu Dhabi International Airport, both of which are civilian infrastructure. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed three civilians and injured six other civilians.

This latest attack is part of a pattern of repeated terrorist behaviuor by the Houthis. On January 12, the UAE condemned the Houthis’ seizure of a UAE-flagged civilian cargo ship in the Red Sea as an act of piracy during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

The civilian cargo vessel, known as the Rwabee, was seized by the Houthis on January 3.