Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh urges troops to defend nation from Houthis

Saudi Arabia's top cleric has issued a rare statement, calling on the kingdom's troops to defend the country from neighbouring Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh Al Fawzan, who traditionally avoids weighing in on politics in a country that holds enormous influence among Muslims worldwide, issued the strongly worded statement.

Al Fawzan addressed his message to soldiers defending the kingdom's borders and members of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, peppering it with Quranic verses and religious edicts.

"Protecting this great nation, guarding its borders, defending against aggression and punishing those who want to harm any inch of it is one of the greatest duties,” he said in the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday.

The rare and strongly worded message was addressed to soldiers stationed at the country’s borders with Yemen and drew heavily on Quranic verses and recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) related to sacrifice and struggle in defence of God.

It comes after weeks of escalating violence between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with the Iran-backed group attacking the Kingdom with salvos of missiles and drones and Saudi Arabia responding with airstrikes.

The Houthis have also seized much of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, including the strategic port city of Mokha and the coastal town of Dhubab, and moved onto key islands in and around the Bab Al Mandab Strait.

Associated Press