Saudi Arabia issues emergency alerts of ‘potential danger’ in southwestern areas

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense issued emergency alerts of a "potential danger" on Sunday in the southwestern city of Abha and Khamis Mushait governorate, before later announcing that the threat had passed in both areas.

The warnings were issued through the kingdom's National Early Warning Platform for Emergencies, according to Civil Defense statements.

Authorities first activated an alert in Khamis Mushait, warning residents of a "potential danger" without specifying its nature.

A similar alert was later issued in Abha, also in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

The Civil Defense subsequently announced that the danger had passed in both Khamis Mushait and Abha.

The statements did not provide further details on the nature of the threat or report any casualties or damage.

A day before, similar alerts were activated in the same regions.

The latest alerts came amid rapidly escalating fighting in neighboring Yemen, where the Houthis have taken control of strategic areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, including the districts of Hays and Al-Khawkhah in the western Al-Hudaydah province.

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has also intensified on several fronts, particularly in the Taiz, Al-Jawf, and Al-Bayda provinces, amid airstrikes targeting Houthi positions.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government.