Saudi Arabia Intercepts Missile Near Yemen's Border

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Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted a ballistic missile near the kingdom's border with Yemen.

State media reports the Saudi air defense system intercepted the missile above its southwestern province of Najran.

Shiite rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis, have previously aimed missiles at Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of backing the Houthis.

The Houthi rebels seized Yemen’s capital of Sanaa in 2014, forcing the country's internationally recognized president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to temporarily flee to Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led coalition responded in March 2015 by launching airstrikes against the Houthis on behalf of Hadi's government. The airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians and wiped out entire neighborhoods, including hospitals.

The conflict is now widely seen as a proxy war between regional rivals Saudi Arabia, which backs the government and Iran, which backs the Houthi rebels.

Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly called attention to the effect the conflict has had on civilians in Yemen, where the United Nations says 3 million people have been forced from their homes.

The International Red Cross said there are one million suspected cases of cholera in Yemen, and more than 80 percent of Yemenis lack food, fuel, clean water and access to health care.