Jazan, November 08: The Kingdom is fully capable of defending its land, securing its borders and repelling intruders, said a high-ranking Saudi official during a visit to the border zone where Yemeni rebels attacked Saudi Border Guards on Tuesday.
“It is our duty to deal with this rash and irresponsible action and put an end to this tragedy,” said Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation Prince Khaled bin Sultan while addressing members of the armed forces and special security forces in Al-Khoba. The situation is under total control, he added.
Prince Khaled made it clear that Saudi Arabia is established on the principles of Shariah, justice, and noninterference in the internal affairs of other nations. “At the same time we will not let anyone interfere in our matters,” he said.
“Our soldiers have taught the evil aggressors a lesson they will never forget. They have fought well and outsmarted the enemy using the latest military techniques, which the brazen rebels did not expect,” he added.
Prince Khaled said five Saudi soldiers went missing and one of them later returned. Search for the remaining was under way, he said.
Meanwhile, Saudi forces continued to flush out Houthi rebels from some border areas on Saturday as officials said the operation would continue until all infiltrators had been dealt with.
Medical sources said the number of casualties on the Saudi side did not exceed seven. Four of them were women hit by a rocket.
In another development, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah flew to the region on Saturday to visit injured soldiers and civilians in the intensive care wards at hospitals in Samitah and Jazan.
Al-Rabeeah conveyed the gratitude of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to the injured. “A state of medical emergency has been declared in the region and a blood-donating campaign is under way. The Jazan Health Department has been supplied with 30 ambulances to cope with any emergency,” said Jibril Al-Qubbi, spokesman for the Health Directorate in Jazan. He added that there is no shortage of medications, medical accessories and staff.
“The health minister is satisfied with the high level of service in the hospitals in the region,” said Khalid Al-Mirghalani, spokesman for the Ministry of Health.
Eyewitnesses in the region told Arab News on Saturday that they saw security men transferring approximately 3,000 violators of Saudi residence regulations and unidentified persons to the Tiwal border crossing with Yemen. They also saw the evacuation of several small villages lying close to the center of action to safe locations away from the border.
Shuja Al-Qahtani, director general of education in Jazan, said 51 schools in border villages have been closed and that students were relocated to other schools in the region. Eyewitnesses also said that Border Guards continued their operations to dislodge the infiltrators from a number of villages and arrested six infiltrators in the Dagharir village who were sitting on the roof of the village mosque.
——Agencies