Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, has conveyed the greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to the southern border forces on the advent of Eid al-Fitr.
He commended the “heroic role” of the forces to protect the country and its sacred sites, during his visit on Tuesday to Jazan, where he met officers as well as residents of the area.
The Crown Prince hailed that thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the armed forces, three million visitors in Makkah are safely practicing their rituals.
Minister of the National Guard Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar and Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid Bin Salman accompanied the Crown Prince during the visit.
Upon his arrival, he was received by Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz bin Muhammad, deputy Emir of Jazan, Lt. Gen. Prince Fahd Bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, commander of the Joint Forces, as well as senior commanders and officers of the armed forces in the southern region.
This isn’t the first time the Crown Prince visits the southern border forces that are defending the Saudi-Yemeni border and conducting multiple tasks within the Arab Coalition to face the Houthi militias.
During Ramadan, the Iranian-backed Houthis stepped up attacks by attempting to target Makkah two weeks ago with two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen. The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted them in Jeddah and Taif. The group also targeted with drones two Aramco pumping stations on May 14.
Since the Houthi coup, the Saudi forces have countered around 227 ballistic missiles launched from Yemen towards Saudi regions including the Two Holy Mosques. The Kingdom’s calls for facing the Iranian threat was met with enormous support by the GCC countries, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Crown Prince, further, received at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah several officials including Assistant Minister of Defense Mohammed al-Ayesh, Adviser to the Royal Court and General Supervisor of the Defense Minister’s Office Fahd al-Issa, Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh al-Ruwaili, Adviser to the Defense Minister’s Office and Director of the Special Affairs Department, Khalid al-Rayes, Assistant Defense Minister for Executive Affairs Dr. Khalid Bayari, Deputy Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Mutlaq Azima’a, Commander of the Unified Military Command of the GCC Lt. Gen. Eid al-Shalawi, and commanders of the Armed Forces branches.
He conveyed to them the greetings of King Salman, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
