Kuwait, UAE Advise Against Travel to Iraq

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand in front of security forces near the office of prime minister, Baghdad, Iraq, 29 August 2022. (EPA)
Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand in front of security forces near the office of prime minister, Baghdad, Iraq, 29 August 2022. (EPA)
TT

Kuwait, UAE Advise Against Travel to Iraq

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand in front of security forces near the office of prime minister, Baghdad, Iraq, 29 August 2022. (EPA)
Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stand in front of security forces near the office of prime minister, Baghdad, Iraq, 29 August 2022. (EPA)

Kuwait has urged its citizens in neighboring Iraq to leave the country.

The state-run KUNA news agency also encouraged those hoping to travel to Iraq to delay their plans over the eruption of violent street clashes between rival Shiite groups in the country.

The Gulf sheikhdom of Kuwait shares a 254 kilometer (158 mile)-long border with Iraq.

Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates stopped flights to Baghdad on Tuesday over the ongoing unrest in Iraq.

The carrier said that it was “monitoring the situation closely.”

It did not say whether flights would resume for Wednesday.

Fighting erupted in Iraq on Monday after influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced he was quitting political life.

The death toll rose to 22 Iraqis on Tuesday after the unrest erupted the previous day, according to two medical officials.

Iraq's military said four rockets were launched into the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq's government where armed clashes raged overnight between a militia royal to Sadr and Iraqi security forces.

Sadr's sudden resignation has catapulted Iraq into violence and chaos with no clear path out.

To avenge the killing of unarmed loyalists, Sadr's militia Saraya Salam clashed with Iraqi security forces in the Green Zone using an array of weapons, including mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, two security officials said.

The militia also took over some headquarters belonging to rival Iran-backed militia groups in the southern provinces overnight.

Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since Sadr’s party won the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but not enough to secure a majority government. His refusal to negotiate with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals in the Coordination Framework and subsequent exit from the talks has catapulted the country into political uncertainty and volatility amid intensifying intra-Shiite wrangling.



Coalition Intercepts Ballistic, Cruise Missiles and UAVs

Official Spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. Asharq Al-Awsat
Official Spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

Coalition Intercepts Ballistic, Cruise Missiles and UAVs

Official Spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. Asharq Al-Awsat
Official Spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki. Asharq Al-Awsat

Official Spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki stated on Friday that a ballistic missile launched toward Yanbu was intercepted and destroyed.

In separate statements, he said that two cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed over the Red Sea, and three UAVs were intercepted and destroyed in the Southern and Riyadh regions.

The UN Security Council strongly condemned on Thursday the ongoing and escalating Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, including those that hit civil aviation and energy infrastructure, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.


Saudi Arabia Welcomes Security Council Statement Condemning Houthi Attacks

From a previous UN Security Council session on Yemen, attended by UN Envoy Hans Grundberg (Saudi Mission to the UN)
From a previous UN Security Council session on Yemen, attended by UN Envoy Hans Grundberg (Saudi Mission to the UN)
TT

Saudi Arabia Welcomes Security Council Statement Condemning Houthi Attacks

From a previous UN Security Council session on Yemen, attended by UN Envoy Hans Grundberg (Saudi Mission to the UN)
From a previous UN Security Council session on Yemen, attended by UN Envoy Hans Grundberg (Saudi Mission to the UN)

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed on Friday the presidential statement issued by the United Nations Security Council regarding the attacks against the Kingdom.

In a statement, the Ministry lauded the condemnation of the continued and escalatory attacks against the Kingdom by the terrorist Houthi militia, including attacks on civilian objects, airports, and energy infrastructure, in addition to the ongoing threats to navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.

The Ministry affirmed the importance of the statement's provisions, including its emphasis on the importance of full implementation of Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) and subsequent resolutions, and its call for practical cooperation to prevent the terrorist Houthi group from acquiring weapons and other forms of support.

The statement appreciated the solidarity expressed by Security Council members in the face of attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects within its territory, reaffirming its inherent right under international law to take all measures to defend its security and protect its citizens and residents.


Saudi Arabia Offers Condolences to Pakistan over School Building Collapse

Saudi Arabia Offers Condolences to Pakistan over School Building Collapse
TT

Saudi Arabia Offers Condolences to Pakistan over School Building Collapse

Saudi Arabia Offers Condolences to Pakistan over School Building Collapse

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s sincere condolences and sympathy to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan following the collapse of part of a school building in Peshawar, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of several students, the Saudi Press Agency reported Friday.

The ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom’s solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan during this tragic incident and wished the injured students a speedy recovery.