Urgent meeting of Pakistan, Saudi and Turkish army chiefs to support Riyadh against the Houthis

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey intend to hold an "urgent meeting" of army chiefs, due to the military escalation with the Houthis in Yemen and attacks targeting Saudi territory. 

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a press statement that "Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will discuss providing support to Riyadh under the joint defense agreement." 

The ministry added that "the three countries condemn the attacks that targeted Mecca and Saudi facilities," noting that "the three countries affirm Saudi Arabia's right to defend its security." 

Houthi attacks on Saudi cities and strikes on the kingdom's ships in the Red Sea have been escalating, while Saudi civil defense yesterday, Thursday, issued a series of alerts covering several areas of the kingdom, including the city of Mecca, warning of a threat to those areas before later declaring the danger had passed.

The Houthis carried out attacks on the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government and repeatedly fired toward Saudi territory, which led to disruptions in oil flows from the world's largest energy exporter.