Morocco's King Mohammed VI backs Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks and calls for accountability

Pinned summary · as of 04:43

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has taken Saudi Arabia's side following a series of strikes that his Royal Office pins on Houthi militias. He set out his stance in letters addressed to the Saudi monarch, King Salman, and the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The New Crusading Guide, Ghana News Online and MyJoyOnline carried the news between 28 and 29 September.

What we know

• King Mohammed VI condemned the Houthi militias' repeated strikes against the Saudi kingdom and voiced solidarity with Riyadh in messages to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
• The Moroccan monarch declared that an attack on Saudi Arabia would be treated as an attack on Morocco itself.
• He said the strikes hit civilian and economic sites, vital infrastructure, towns and residential districts, and described Morocco as deeply concerned.
• The king voiced alarm at what he described as attempts to strike Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest cities.
• In his view, Morocco's own security is bound up with the security of Saudi Arabia and of its partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
• He pointed to danger from armed groups he labelled terrorist and separatist and from the regional powers behind them, and warned that sea lanes important to world trade and shipping are also threatened.
• The king argued that the continuing attacks breach international law, citing UN Security Council Resolution 2216 of 2015 on Yemen and Resolution 2722 of 2024 on Red Sea shipping. He added that strikes on civilian districts, economic infrastructure and sacred sites also break humanitarian law and international conventions.
• He called on those behind the attacks, and on anyone who backs, finances or arms them, to answer for their actions; Ghana News Online and MyJoyOnline reported him placing full responsibility on the Houthi militias and their backers.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

• ?
  The accusations about who carried out the attacks, who supports them and whether Mecca and Medina were targeted are the Moroccan king's own characterisation. None of the three reports carries independent verification, and the regional powers he referred to are not named.
• ?
  Only MyJoyOnline reported the king saying that the attacks contradict Islamic teaching on peace, tolerance and respect for life and holy places, that Morocco shares a strategic assessment with Riyadh, and that such actions "cannot go unpunished". The other two publications did not carry these points.
• ?
  The New Crusading Guide, citing the Royal Office, said the attacks offend Muslims worldwide and drew on the historical, religious and strategic links between Rabat and Riyadh. Ghana News Online put the number of Muslims affected at over one billion eight hundred million, a figure the others did not give.

Why it matters for Ghana

The conflict is far from Ghana, yet the king's warning about shipping routes concerns sea lanes that carry fuel, food and manufactured goods towards West African ports. Ghana has a sizeable Muslim community, and many Ghanaians make pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina each year, so talk of threats to the two cities will be watched closely. The statement also shows how governments across Africa and the Arab world are taking positions on the fighting around Yemen and the Red Sea.