Fears of a fresh outbreak of violence in Yemen are rising after the internationally recognised government attacked Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian aircraft from landing and Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles.
The government forces bombed the runway at the airport on Monday to prevent the landing of a plane carrying a delegation of Houthis arriving from Iran. The rebel group later launched missiles at Saudi Arabia, whose coalition backs the government. The strikes have raised concern that a fresh wave of violence could be unleashed.
The Yemeni capital Sanaa – and much of northern Yemen, including the port city of Hodeidah on the western Red Sea coast – is controlled by Houthi rebels aligned with Iran, while the government, which has the backing of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, is based in Aden on the south coast.
“The Houthi terrorist militia, supported by the Iranian regime, prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the capital’s airport, Sanaa, and insisted that the Iranian aircraft violate Yemeni airspace. Therefore, the airport runway was targeted,” the government said in a statement on Monday.
Earlier, the Defence Ministry warned civilians, workers, diplomatic missions and humanitarian organisations to immediately evacuate the airport and its surroundings until further notice.
Later in the day, the Houthis reported that the aircraft carrying a delegation back from Tehran had landed in Hodeidah.
Houthi broadcaster al-Masirah quoted the group’s transport minister as saying “the Iranian plane has landed on the homeland’s soil, carrying a number of medical patients and stranded citizens, accompanied by the official delegation of the Republic of Yemen”.
The Houthis said they would respond to the attack, blaming it on Saudi Arabia, without providing evidence.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned that “this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished”.
Iran also condemned the strikes. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the attack “as a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as an affront to Yemen’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” state news agency IRNA reported.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities.
On Monday evening, the Saudi-led coalition for Yemen reported that it had intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the Iran-backed Houthis towards the southern region of the kingdom.
“Air defences intercepted a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki posted on social media.
The Houthis later said that they had carried out a military operation targeting Abha International Airport with ballistic missiles and drones in response in southern Saudi Arabia.
Saree warned all airlines against flying over Saudi airspace, urging them to take the warning seriously until what he described as the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted
Tensions
Tensions have been rising since the Houthis accused the kingdom earlier this month of attacking an Iranian plane that landed in Sanaa, then took off carrying a Houthi delegation.
The rebels threatened then to hit Saudi airports and vital assets should Riyadh violate its airspace or attempt to attack it again.
The latest escalation raised the spectre of renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia after a United Nations-backed ceasefire largely froze the conflict.
Moammar bin Mutahar Al-Eryan, the information minister in the internationally recognised government, said the Houthis had detained an aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Sanaa airport and were holding its pilot and co-pilot.
Earlier on Monday, the defence minister said the government had exhausted diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran and the Houthis to stop what he described as Iranian aircraft violating Yemeni airspace.
He said government forces would respond to any hostile aircraft violating Yemen’s airspace “by all available means” – and held Iran responsible.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis seized Sanaa and ousted the government. The war has caused widespread displacement, damage and famine, with the United Nations describing the situation as one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
Hans Grundberg, UN Special Envoy for Yemen, warned of the danger of escalation, saying his office was in contact with all sides to convince them to step back from the brink.
“We are urging them to de-escalate and refrain from any actions that would risk a new cycle of violence in Yemen,” he said in a statement.
