Kenya has condemned the escalating missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, joining a chorus of international voices calling for an immediate end to the hostilities as tensions in the region continue to rise.
In a statement issued Friday, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs said Nairobi was troubled by strikes directed at infrastructure, civilian areas and sites considered sacred within the Kingdom. “The Government of the Republic of Kenya condemns the escalating missile and drone attacks directed against the infrastructure facilities, civilian and sacred places in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and calls for the immediate cessation of the growing hostilities,” the ministry said.
The statement follows a reported attack a day earlier in which Saudi authorities said they intercepted a drone over the Taif Governorate near Mecca, with falling debris said to have killed one person and injured two others. Yemen’s Houthi movement has been blamed for a series of missile and drone launches targeting Saudi territory in recent days, though the group has denied intentionally targeting sites near Mecca.
Kenya’s ministry also flagged concerns over the safety of maritime trade routes in the region, calling for “unimpeded maritime waterways, and the cessation of attacks against merchant and commercial vessels,” a nod to wider disruption that Red Sea shipping lanes have faced amid the broader conflict involving Houthi forces.
Nairobi further raised concern for the welfare of Kenyan nationals and pilgrims currently in Saudi Arabia, particularly those visiting the Two Holy Mosques, urging calm and vigilance as the security situation remains fluid.
The statement positions Kenya alongside other governments that have issued similar condemnations in recent days, reflecting growing unease over the trajectory of hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces based in Yemen. Regional and international mediators have in the past called for de-escalation, though attacks and counter-strikes have continued intermittently.
Kenya has significant diplomatic and economic interests tied to the Gulf region, including a large diaspora population and strong trade links, making stability in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf a matter of direct national interest for Nairobi.