UAE blocks missiles as Houthis attack region’s business hub

United Arab Emirates on Monday said it had foiled a second missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi movement group, which last week hit a fuel depot in Abu Dhabi, killing three people.

The defence ministry of the UAE said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles on Monday with no casualties.

The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, said the group had fired Zulfiqar ballistic missiles at al-dhafra airbase in Abu Dhabi, which is used by the United States, and other “sensitive targets”. He said it had also launched drones towards Dubai.

The UAE, which has an advanced antimissile interception system, published a video of an F-16 warplane destroying a Houthi missile launcher in Yemen.

The Houthis have repeatedly carried out cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, but their first attack on the UAE on January 17 raised the stakes of a conflict largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Battling a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE, the Houthis have said they aim to punish the UAE for backing militias that are blocking their attempts to capture oil-producing regions in Yemen. “We advise foreign companies and investors in the UAE to leave as it has become unsafe,” Houthi military spokesperson said, adding the group was ready to “meet escalation with escalation”.