Riyadh schools in distance learning for a week

“ Awe have had to be informed by the Saudi authorities that schools should remain closed all week,” says the messages, consulted by the France-Presse news agency (AFP), without specifying the reason for the measure.

“It’s a last-minute decision. We have no idea what is happening,” a Lebanese expatriate living in the Saudi capital told AFP.

The Yemeni-backed Hutis fighters launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, targeting Riyadh and Khamis Mushait, a city in the southwest that houses an important air base.

The Saudi armed forces reported intercepting drones and ballistic missiles fired from Yemen.

After several years of relative calm, Yemen plunged back into conflict in July, becoming a new front of the conflict in the Middle East.

The hostilities oppose the Hutis, which control the capital, Sanaa, and Yemeni coast in the Red Sea, the government recognized by the international community, exiled in Aden (south) and which controls much of the country's south and east, relying on the support of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

On Saturday, Riyadh denounced to the United Nations General Assembly the “failures” of the international community to fulfil its responsibilities in the face of Iranian threats in the Gulf.

Denouncing the “unjustifiable Iranian aggressions” directed against Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhane lamented the “failures of the international community” in fulfilling his responsibility to address threats against international peace and security at a time when a country faces attacks by Hutis.

“ The stability of this vital region is directly linked to global energy security,” he stressed.

At a time when oil exports from the country are being seriously affected by disturbances in the Straits of Ormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, following the Middle East war, Saudi Arabia also called for the protection of freedom of navigation.

“The protection of international navigation and supply chains is a shared responsibility that requires serious international cooperation,” said the Saudi chief of diplomacy, referring to the two straits, as well as the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.