Image@ Reuters
A fragile four-year period of relative calm between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement has been disrupted after the Iran-backed group launched missiles toward southern Saudi Arabia, following allegations that Saudi-backed forces carried out airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport.
Saudi authorities said their air defence systems intercepted projectiles aimed at the kingdom’s southern border region.
Coalition officials blamed the attack on the Houthi movement, describing it as a terrorist act.
The Houthis, through military spokesperson Yahya Saree, claimed responsibility for the strike, stating that Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s Asir Province was the intended target.
The airport serves one of the kingdom’s most popular mountain destinations.
The missile launch marks the first publicly acknowledged Houthi attack on Saudi territory since a ceasefire arrangement took effect in March 2022, ending years of cross-border assaults that had targeted Saudi cities and energy facilities.
The renewed hostilities have heightened fears of a broader escalation along Saudi Arabia’s southern frontier, particularly after tensions with Iran had eased following an earlier regional truce.
Analysts warn that renewed conflict with the Houthis could threaten shipping routes in the Red Sea, where the group has previously carried out attacks on commercial vessels.
Earlier in the day, the Houthis accused Saudi-backed Yemeni forces of bombing Sanaa International Airport, calling the operation an act of aggression and declaring that the previous period of restraint had come to an end.
The group also warned airlines against operating flights through Saudi airspace until restrictions on Sanaa airport were lifted.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government acknowledged responsibility for striking the airport runway, explaining that the operation was intended to stop an Iranian aircraft from landing without government approval.
Officials argued that the flight violated Yemen’s sovereignty and warned that any unauthorised aircraft entering the country’s airspace would face military action.
They also accused Tehran of supporting such activities.
Government officials later reported that the Iranian aircraft landed instead at Hodeidah Airport, which remains under Houthi control on Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
It remains unclear whether any effort was made to prevent the aircraft from reaching its alternative destination.
Separately, a government minister alleged that the Houthis were holding an aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at Sanaa airport.
An ICRC spokesperson confirmed that all humanitarian personnel and crew members were safe but declined to provide additional details.
The latest developments follow the collapse of an ICRC-facilitated prisoner exchange agreement between the Houthis and Yemen’s recognised government, with both parties accusing each other of causing the negotiations to fail.
Yemen has endured more than a decade of conflict since the Houthis captured the capital, forcing the internationally recognised administration to relocate.
Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in 2015 in support of the government, a campaign that contributed to one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies.
Instability has also deepened following clashes involving a United Arab Emirates-backed separatist faction, which seized large areas in southern Yemen and exposed divisions within the anti-Houthi alliance.
Although the 2022 ceasefire significantly reduced direct fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, regional tensions linked to the Gaza conflict and maritime attacks in the Red Sea have continued to threaten the fragile peace.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong