Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss enhancing cooperation and coordination among their armed forces, amid ongoing Houthi group attacks on Saudi Arabia.
This came according to a statement from the UAE Ministry of Defense regarding the meeting of the Operations and Training Committee of the Armed Forces of the GCC countries, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the Sultanate of Oman. The ministry stated: "The emergency meeting of the Operations and Training Committee of the Armed Forces of the GCC countries was held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council."
Enhancing military readiness
The ministry clarified that the meeting discussed several topics aimed at enhancing joint military cooperation in the fields of operations and training, and developing coordination and integration mechanisms between Gulf armed forces. It added that the discussions targeted "supporting the process of joint Gulf defensive work, and enhancing military readiness and efficiency in the fields of operations and training."
The statement did not include details regarding the decisions resulting from the meeting, nor did it directly mention discussing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. No statement had been issued by the GCC regarding the meeting as of the time of writing.
Escalation of Yemeni attacks
The military meeting comes amid escalating Houthi group attacks on Saudi Arabia and Gulf and international moves to stop them. GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Buaidi had called on Sunday for an "effective" international move against the "Houthi militia" at the conclusion of a ministerial meeting in Manama.
Last Thursday, the UN Security Council called for an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and cooperation to prevent the group from acquiring weapons and assistance related to military activities. On the same day, the Saudi-led coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen announced that 19 people were killed and 364 others injured in attacks carried out by the group on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh and Abha.
The coalition also announced that the Medina region was targeted, without additional details in the available data, while the group denied responsibility for it. Since July last year, Yemen has witnessed military escalation between government forces supported by the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group, following a period of relative calm associated with a truce that began in April 2022.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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