Lebanon condemns Houthi missile on Riyadh as inciting existing division

BEIRUT, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri strongly condemned Tuesday the firing of a ballistic missile at Saudi capital Riyadh by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, saying it "exacerbates existing divisions and conflicts."

"The repeated targeting of Saudi territory by missile attacks from Yemeni territory does not only threaten the security of the kingdom and the safety of its people, but also exposes the region to serious dangers and exacerbates existing divisions and conflicts," Hariri said in a statement released by his media office.

He added that "we strongly condemn such attacks and stress the need to abandon these aggressive methods and refrain from policies that fuel conflict."

Hariri also called for "resorting to the path of dialogue to solve the difficult problems."

Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said it shot down a ballistic missile over Riyadh fired from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who announced that the target was the official residence of King Salman.

For the past three years Saudi Arabia has led a military campaign involving airstrikes and ground troops against the Houthis, who seized the Yemeni capital from the internationally recognized government in 2014.

The kingdom accuses the Shiite rebels of being a proxy for its arch foe Iran, which vehemently denies arming the insurgents. Enditem