Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan discuss the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in Riyadh amid the escalation of the conflict in Yemen

The Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that a committee affiliated with the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh on Monday in the presence of senior Turkish officials.

Rashad Al-Alimi, Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, had announced earlier on Sunday the start of a large-scale military operation against the Houthi group to regain control of the lands under its control.

Pakistan's foreign minister said on Friday that Iran had proposed engaging politically with the Houthis following attacks by the group, an idea the committee will discuss at a meeting in Riyadh this week.

The Turkish statement said, "The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached by efforts to institutionalize the alliance."

The statement added that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and Chief of the General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will attend the meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the Mecca Agreement, along with officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

1,122 operations against the Houthis

The Yemeni government forces said that they carried out 1,122 operations targeting sites of the Houthi militia, as part of the "Battle of Liberation and Ending the Coup" operation.

The Yemeni forces added that the operations targeted Houthi sites on the Saada, Al-Jawf, Taiz, and Sahel fronts.

The official spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili, announced on Sunday the start of implementation of the "liberation battle" to complete the restoration of state institutions, end the Houthi coup, and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.

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Al-Nazili said that the battle aims to restore the lands controlled by the Houthi militia, extend national sovereignty, and end the manifestations of the coup, noting that the armed forces confirm their commitment to protecting the lives of civilians and sparing them from harm in all regions and governorates.

He added that the battle aims to return Yemen to its Arab embrace and strategic depth, stressing the right of the state and citizens to restore their rights and live a decent life.

Yesterday, Sunday, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi, announced the start of military operations to restore the remainder of Yemen’s lands and extend the authority of the state and its institutions over the entire national territory, stressing the transition from the stage of preparation and preparation to the stage of liberation after exhausting all opportunities for calm.

Al-Alimi said in a statement to the Yemeni people: “Based on our constitutional responsibility to protect the sovereignty of the Republic and its citizens, and based on the decisions of the National Defense Council, and after completing the necessary procedures and measures, today I announce the start of military operations to restore the remainder of the Republic’s lands, and extend the authority of the state and its institutions over the entire national territory.”

Meanwhile, the Houthis announced that they had launched ballistic missiles and drones against sites belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh and Khurais, noting that the attacks caused major fires, and that they came in response to what they said were 50 air and missile attacks launched by the Saudi-led coalition over the past 12 hours.

The military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, said that the group carried out "two qualitative military operations" with a number of ballistic missiles and drones against sites belonging to Saudi Aramco in the capital, Riyadh, and the oil-rich Khurais region in the east of the kingdom.

The spokesman confirmed that the two operations successfully achieved their goals and caused large fires in the targeted locations.

Last week, the Ansar Allah group announced targeting Aramco facilities in Yanbu with missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia said at the time that it intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by the group towards Taif and the Yanbu region, without announcing any damage to the company’s facilities.

The Houthis cut a vital supply road linking the main city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen and the city of Aden, where the internationally recognized government is based, according to what Agence France-Presse reported from security sources and eyewitnesses on Sunday.

Government military sources and eyewitnesses said, "The Houthis were able to cut off the Taiz-Aden road and impose a siege on Taiz after days of fighting."

The sources confirmed that the Houthis were able to "reach the Al-Samsarah and Al-Safiya line, cut off the road and stop movement."