Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles fired from Yemen as G20 ministers gather
G20 finance ministers and central bankers gather for meeting in Riyadh
Dubai: Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several ballistic missiles fired from Yemen towards Saudi cities on Friday as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies gathered for a meeting in Riyadh.
The Iran-aligned Al Houthi movement launched the missiles from the Yemeni capital Sana’a at 3am, Saudi news agency SPA quoted the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen as saying. It gave no further details.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Al Houthi movement.
The G20 meeting, at which finance officials are due to discuss the global economy, was continuing as scheduled.
An escalation of violence since the start of the year has shattered more than three months of unprecedented calm in the five-year-old conflict in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to try to restore the internationally-recognised government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, ousted by the Al Houthis in Sana’a in 2014.