Arab News 

The Yemeni government called on international organizations to protect archaeological sites from the Houthi militia, state news agency Saba reported on Saturday.

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism strongly condemned the demolishing of the historic Al-Nahrain Mosque, which is more than 1,300-years-old, by the Houthi militia in Sanaa.

The ministry said in a statement that it considered the demolition a “crime” and a “blatant assault” on the Yemeni civilization and its Islamic heritage.

The Al-Nahrain Mosque is considered a national historical asset as it was built in the first century of the Islamic calendar and is one of the archaeological landmarks that needed to be preserved and protected, the statement said.

The ministry called on international organizations, including UNESCO, to monitor all archaeological sites and areas under the Houthi militia’s control, and work to protect them from any distortion to protect Yemen’s cultural heritage.

The ministry vowed to take necessary measures in pursuing the perpetrators in accordance with all local and international legislation concerned with antiquities and culture.

Meanwhile, Council of Arab Interior Ministers condemned the Houthi militia’s repeated attacks, including the targeting of civilian areas such as airports.

Over the past week, the Iran-backed Houthi militia targeting Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia, which in one incident, caused a civilian airplane to catch fire.