MANILA — While no casualty has been reported after the latest missile attacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Philippine government has advised Filipinos in the Gulf state to remain vigilant.
The advisory was issued Thursday after attacks were launched anew by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday.
Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Adnan Alonto said Saudi security forces managed to intercept a ballistic missile that targeted the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh and shot down two unmanned drones that targeted the Aramco oil storage facilities in the provinces of Najran and Jizan on Wednesday evening.
Alonto said there are 374,495 Filipinos in Riyadh; 7,850 in Najran; and 15,700 in Jizan.
No casualty has been reported but he asked all Filipinos in the area to remain calm and vigilant.
The latest attack was the fourth targeting Riyadh in the past five months.
In March, Saudi forces shot down several ballistic missiles but two Egyptians on the ground were killed by falling debris.
Saudi Arabia, which hosts almost a million Filipino workers, has repeatedly been targeted by Houthi rebels fighting a Saudi-led military coalition supporting the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
Manila, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, has expressed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia as it condemned the attacks and again called for its end.
“These attacks that expose not only Saudi civilians but also tens of thousands of Filipino and other foreign workers to serious danger are a clear violation of international law,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said. (PNA)
