UPDATE – Saudi Arabia briefly activates emergency warnings in several areas amid regional tensions
- Authorities announce danger had passed, urge residents to continue following Civil Defense safety instructions
UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK
By Sahin Demir and Lina Altawell
ISTANBUL (AA) – Saudi Arabia briefly activated emergency warnings Tuesday in Riyadh and several other areas over a potential threat before authorities announced that the danger had passed amid escalating hostilities with Yemen’s Houthi group.
The National Early Warning Platform issued alerts in the capital Riyadh as well as Al-Kharj and Al-Hariq, warning of a potential danger and instructing residents to follow safety measures, Civil Defense said.
Similar warnings were also activated in the southern cities of Abha and Najran.
The alerts did not specify the nature of the threat and provided no further details about what prompted the warnings.
The Saudi Defense Ministry later said the danger had passed in all areas where the warnings had been activated.
Authorities urged residents to continue following Civil Defense instructions, avoid gatherings and filming, and contact emergency services if necessary.
The alerts came amid escalating hostilities between Yemen’s Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition, with Saudi Arabia facing repeated missile and drone attacks in recent weeks.