India on Wednesday expressed concerns over an alleged Houthi drone attack targeting the holy city of Mecca, and called for “early restoration of peace and stability in the region”.
“We are deeply concerned at the drone attack near Makkah. India reiterates its condemnation of attacks on the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and of actions that endanger civilian lives and infrastructure. The Houthis, however, denied targeting Mecca or any Islamic holy site.
The incident near Makkah is particularly concerning, given the special significance of the city to Muslims across the world,” a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said. The drone was destroyed before it entered Mecca’s prohibited airspace, according to the Saudi authorities. Earlier in the day, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the alleged attack, and called on all sides to exercise restraint, saying “dialogue and diplomacy remain the only sustainable path towards peace”. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the dastardly and heinous attempted drone attack against the Holy Site of Makkah Al-Mukarramah,” he said. He added that the people of Pakistan were “saddened and perturbed” by the “outrageous act”. There could be no words strong enough “to capture the depth of anguish and sorrow” felt by them at the “reprehensible and unforgivable act”, he said.
Several areas along Saudi Arabia’s western coast, including Mecca, were put on alert on Tuesday after Saudi authorities said their air defences had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of the city.
