Bahraini Soldiers Killed and Injured by Houthi Drone Attack on Saudi-Yemen Border
Several Bahraini soldiers were killed and injured on Monday on the southern border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a Houthi drone attack, the General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force said in a statement. This Houthi attack occurred despite the ongoing peace efforts and after direct talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group. According to the statement, one officer and one soldier were killed, and several others were injured. The statement added, "The Houthi rebels launched a drone attack on the positions of the Bahraini force stationed on the southern border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite the halt in military operations between the warring parties in Yemen." Bahrain has been a member of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, which led a military campaign in 2015 fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
Four soldiers from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces were killed in an explosion of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) yesterday in Abyan Governorate (southern Yemen), just hours after a similar blast claimed the lives of four others in the neighboring Shabwa Governorate. Local sources reported that four soldiers from the STC forces were killed on Monday in an explosion that targeted their patrol in Wadi Al-Rifad, east of the Moudiah district of Abyan. Al-Qaeda operatives have intensified their attacks on southern separatists over the past months, killing and wounding several officers and soldiers.
Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, met with the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen on Monday to discuss the issue of Yemeni public employee salary payment and efforts to end the Yemen war. The UN envoy's office said in a press release that Hans Grundberg met with prominent Yemeni, regional, and international officials and diplomats in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. It added that Grundberg met with the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber, to discuss "progress in the efforts to reach an agreement between Yemeni parties" to alleviate humanitarian suffering and end the conflict that began in 2015.
On Monday, the European Union mission stated that the European Union Ambassadors to Yemen met with Saudi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber in Riyadh. The ambassadors welcomed the ongoing peace efforts to end the war in Yemen, especially those made by Saudi Arabia and Oman, while affirming their support for UN Special Envoy Gronberg in the same context. The ambassadors called for the continuation of constructive dialogue to launch a comprehensive Yemeni peace process under the auspices of the United Nations.
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, announced on Monday that the country intends to build its first nuclear power plant. This announcement was made during the 67th session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, held in the Austrian capital, Vienna. Prince bin Salman stated that the construction of nuclear energy in the Kingdom is aimed at "contributing to national development." He emphasized Saudi Arabia's "legitimate" right to benefit from peaceful nuclear technology, including the nuclear fuel cycle, and to commercially exploit its natural uranium resources in compliance with relevant international treaties and agreements.
