Saudi Arabia on Saturday dismissed the latest remarks by Yemen’s Armed Forces directed at the Kingdom, calling them an effort to deflect attention.

In a statement, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Major General Turki al-Maliki, said: “Houthi statements against the Kingdom yesterday are merely an attempt to divert attention away from their grave violations against the brotherly people of Yemen, through which they try to export the economic disasters and Yemeni suffering they have caused.”

Maliki further said the group’s statements are “an extension of escalations and hostile behavior demonstrated by the Houthi militia and their attempts to undermine regional and international security.”

He also pledged that the coalition would respond “with unprecedented determination and force to any and all attempts to target the Kingdom, its citizens and residents and national assets, or any attempt to violate the sovereignty of the brotherly Republic of Yemen.”