Yemen's Houthi rebels have announced that they have launched an offensive against Abha International Airport, on Saudi territory, in retaliation for the airstrike carried out hours earlier against Sana'a airport. This bombing was initially attributed by the Houthis to the Saudi Arabian Army, although it was ultimately the Yemeni Army—aligned with the internationally recognized government based in Aden, in the south of the country—who claimed responsibility. So far, no official data on possible casualties or material damage has been released, and the Riyadh authorities have not yet offered an official statement.
"The Yemeni armed forces have carried out a military operation against Abha International Airport with ballistic missiles and drones," announced the Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sari, who framed the operation as a "response" to the "Saudi criminal aggression."
In his message, Sari stressed that Riyadh is "fully responsible for the serious consequences of this brutal aggression, which benefits the Zionist-American enemy, and for all repercussions that may arise from it," while reiterating the Houthi rebels' "firm commitment" to "repel the aggression and lift the unjust blockade imposed" on the country.
"In this context, (the Houthi militias) warn all airlines not to fly over Saudi airspace and urge them to take our warnings seriously until the blockade of Sana'a International Airport is lifted," Sari stated. In the same statement, the spokesman also conveyed his "sincere gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Iran for its assistance to the Republic of Yemen in lifting the unjust blockade of Sana'a International Airport and for facilitating humanitarian flights to and from said airport."
Despite the Houthis' direct accusations against Saudi Arabia, it was the Yemeni Army that acknowledged the attack against the Yemeni capital's airfield, explaining that the objective was to "prevent an Iranian plane from landing on Yemeni territory," according to a brief statement disseminated on social media. According to the air traffic monitoring platform Flightradar, that aircraft was ultimately diverted to Tehran.
In relation to the Houthi attack on the Saudi airport of Abha, the spokesperson for the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, Turki al Maliki, has stated on social media that "air defenses have dealt with the ballistic missile threats launched by the Houthi terrorist militia against the southern region" of the country. Although he has not offered additional information, the Flightradar website itself has reported a temporary closure of the facilities and the diversion of several flights after detecting the launches of projectiles.
This new escalation of violence occurs in parallel to the cross-accusations between the Yemeni authorities and the Houthis over the delay in the implementation of an exchange of more than 1,700 prisoners, initially planned for Saturday. The exchange, mediated by the United Nations, was set to become the largest release of detainees since the start of the conflict in 2015.
The conflict in Yemen has plunged one of the poorest countries on the planet into a humanitarian crisis of enormous magnitude. Despite attempts by the international community to promote a political agreement between the Houthi rebels and the government militarily backed by Saudi Arabia, negotiations have not yet managed to crystallize into a lasting peace pact.