🇸🇦Week of October 26

The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government said its air defenses intercepted a drone over Mecca and a cruise missile aimed at the Western Region. Saudi Arabia announced the interceptions as strikes it attributed to the Houthis. The Houthis denied carrying out any operation toward Saudi territory that day, calling the claim of an intercepted drone over Mecca a grave fabrication.123

The denials came through the group's Ansar Allah channel, which said it had not executed any operation toward the Saudi interior on Wednesday and rejected the Mecca account as "a great calumny." Saudi Arabia's Council of Senior Scholars issued a statement declaring that the holy sites are not a place for terrorism. Yemeni academics and expatriates told Okaz that attacks on the holy sites amount to war crimes requiring punishment.245

Other reported attacks that day were aimed at Riyadh and the oil sector. The coalition said it intercepted two missiles heading toward Riyadh, while the Houthis said they struck Ras Tanura, according to Arabi21. Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia brought a fire near the Ras Tanura oil export terminal under control after an attack.67

Attributed claim: Euronews.com / Elnashra / عربي21: Accounts of the day's attacks differ on targets and scale. Saudi and wire reports describe interceptions of a drone over Mecca and a cruise missile toward the Western Region, while the Houthis say they hit oil facilities and deny any operation toward the kingdom's interior. Arabi21, a wire outlet, reports the coalition intercepting two missiles toward Riyadh alongside the Houthi claim of striking Ras Tanura.126

Saudi Arabia has cancelled contracts to recruit Ethiopian domestic workers through the Musaned platform and is returning payments to customers, according to accounts that link the cancellations to a 30 percent increase in recruitment fees. The cancellations cover some contracts for domestic labor recruited from Ethiopia.123

The Human Resources Ministry denied that recruitment from Ethiopia has been halted, and said the cancellation of some domestic worker contracts through Musaned is not connected to rising costs.45

Wire outlets reported on Thursday that the Human Resources Ministry had cancelled contracts to recruit domestic workers from Ethiopia, without stating a reason.678

Yemeni government forces advanced west of Taiz city and took strategic positions from the Houthis, with fighting concentrated on the al-Dabab front. The army said it struck Houthi fortifications, gatherings of fighters and equipment in the operation it calls Dawn of Yemen.123

The Yemeni armed forces carried out eight airstrikes on Houthi positions west of Taiz, and the army said it reinforced its positions there. A military account put the wider campaign at 1,276 targeting operations against the Houthi militia and 382 of its leaders killed or captured.456

The advances extended beyond Taiz. The army reported ground gains in Marib, with battles continuing in Taiz and shelling on Aden, and the armed forces announced control of strategic, commanding positions on the Bab al-Mandab axis.78

The army accused the Houthis of mutilating soldiers' bodies with corrosive chemicals and demanded an international investigation, saying the case "will not lapse with the passage of time."9

Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi has presented the campaign against the Houthis as Operation Dawn of Yemen, with stated objectives including restoring state authority.1011

A year after the events in Fashir, displaced residents have used their phones to document what happened, material Al Jazeera Net describes as a red hashtag campaign turning the displaced into witnesses to the Fashir massacre. Radio Dabanga called Fashir a ghost city that survived a genocide. Survivors of Fashir have described the atrocities of the siege and the massacres.123

European countries and Canada warned that the "Fashir atrocities" could be repeated in Sudan. The warning was carried by the state outlet Al Arabiya.4

The Rapid Support Forces in Sudan deliberately target hospitals, the BBC's Arabic service reported.5

The accounts of the siege and the massacres come from survivors of Fashir, whose testimony was published by the pro-government daily Okaz.3

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a cabinet session in Riyadh and briefed ministers on the contents of a letter King Salman received from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The cabinet affirmed the central role of the states of the Mecca agreement in regional stability.123

The session followed meetings in Tehran, where Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Turkey's intelligence chief and Pakistan's army chief met Iran's president. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the visit by the defense minister and representatives of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement states aimed to reduce escalation and encourage dialogue and diplomatic solutions.45

The cabinet also approved a commercial transactions system and issued 15 decisions in the same session, and separately endorsed a system to develop the business environment that allows people who have reached 15 years of age to trade.67

Attributed claim: Egyptian outlets reported the letter as addressed to King Salman and focused on the crown prince's briefing of the cabinet, while Euronews framed the session around the Tehran meetings and Riyadh's stated concern for regional stability.894

Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Turkey's intelligence chief and Pakistan's army chief met Iran's president in Tehran, and a meeting of the states of the Mecca alliance with Iran ended in the Iranian capital with security leaders taking part. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the visit by the defense minister and representatives of the states of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement to Tehran aims to reduce escalation between the parties to the current crisis and to encourage dialogue and diplomatic solutions.123

The delegation was received in Tehran on Monday, with the meeting of the Mecca alliance states and Iran wrapping up the same day. The visit was carried by Saudi state outlets and by regional wires through the week.124

Attributed claim: The pro-government Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the outcome of the Mecca alliance visit to Tehran depends on Iran's position, framing the trip's results as conditional on Iranian conduct rather than settled by the meetings themselves.5

Iran International reported that the Mecca alliance was heading to Tehran and that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were moving to contain escalation between Iran and the United States.6

Saudi Arabia's National Water Company announced an adjustment to water and sewage tariffs starting on 1 January 2027, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The change was announced on Monday and applies to both water and wastewater services.123

Saudi Electricity separately announced an adjustment to its electricity service tariff beginning on the same date, 1 January 2027. Al Arabiya reported that Saudi Electricity ruled out any material financial impact from the electricity tariff change.4567

The tariff announcements came alongside royal directives to support citizens, including a 500-riyal increase for civil service employees and social security beneficiaries at the start of 2027. Sabq reported the raise, and Saudi outlets described the directives as touching living costs.82

Mesk, a Saudi company, said its production costs may be affected by the rise in energy and water prices, Argaam reported. The company's statement tied the cost impact directly to the announced increases.9

Drone attacks targeted five major power stations in Sudan, cutting electricity to wide areas of the country. The strikes were attributed to the Rapid Support Forces, which carried out the attacks with drones.1234

The Sudanese army intercepted drones in Al-Jazira state, one of the areas where the attacks were reported. Power outages also hit major cities, with a strike on a power station in Atbara in the north of the country leaving cities without electricity.567

A drone attack on El Obeid killed two people, and electricity and water outages continued there. A wide drone attack also killed people and disabled a main power station in eastern Sudan, according to France 24.89

Attributed claim: إرم نيوز: A adviser to Hamedti accused "Port Sudan forces" of targeting civilians with drones, an account carried by the oppositional outlet Erm News. The claim places responsibility for civilian harm on the Port Sudan side rather than on the force that the other outlets say launched the strikes on the power stations.10

French unions have announced a nationwide general strike aimed at shaking the government of President Emmanuel Macron and forcing a confrontation over wages. The call follows a Saturday of protests in which hundreds of thousands of people marched in streets across France.12

Macron pledged to respond to the protesters' demands and warned against rising tension, Al Arabiya reported. French authorities remained on alert for new protest movements even as violence at Saturday's demonstrations eased, Monte Carlo International reported.34

Demonstrators besieged the Louvre in Paris during the protests, and Paris police announced plans to deploy camera-equipped drones to monitor sensitive areas. France had earlier imposed a partial curfew in response to violence during the widening protests, and the government had not ruled out declaring a state of emergency.24