Yemeni Huthis threaten to strike UAE with missiles

Yemeni Huthis threaten to strike UAE with missiles

SANAA  - The head of Yemen s Huthi rebels threatened Thursday to fire missiles at the United Arab Emirates and to attack Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.

The UAE, a key member of a Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen s conflict, "is now within range of our missiles", Abdel Malek al-Huthi, told the rebel-controlled television station Al-Masirah.

"The companies which have been set up or which have investments in the UAE should no longer consider it a safe country."

Huthi said his forces had advanced their missile technology to reach targets north of the Saudi capital Riyadh and south of Islam s holiest city Mecca in the west of the oil-rich kingdom.

The rebels  naval forces were capable of striking Saudi oil installations and tankers in the Red Sea, he said, warning against any attempt to capture the rebel-held port of Hodeida.

More than 8,400 people have been killed since the Arab coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in March 2015.