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.
