Houthi TV reports Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa airport
Aden (Yemen), July 13 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said Monday that Saudi Arabia launched several airstrikes on the runways of Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital.
Yemen’s armed forces urged the immediate evacuation of the airport.
The strikes came as an Iranian passenger plane carrying a Houthi delegation was heading toward the Yemeni Houthi-controlled airport from Tehran.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Saudi side, and the extent of the damage remains unclear, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Yemeni Defence Minister Taher Al-Aqili warned in a televised statement that the armed forces would engage any hostile aircraft violating Yemeni airspace.
The Iranian passenger plane is the same one that landed at Sanaa International Airport on July 4, carrying more than 200 Yemeni patients and stranded passengers from Tehran. It later departed for the Iranian capital with a senior Houthi delegation that travelled to attend the funeral ceremonies of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
On July 3, the Houthi group said that its air defence forces intercepted Saudi warplanes which allegedly entered Yemeni airspace to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Sanaa International Airport.
The Houthi delegation has insisted on returning aboard the same Iranian aircraft, rejecting the government’s proposal to facilitate its return on a different, non-Iranian plane operating under government supervision.
On Sunday, the Houthi group warned Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s government against intercepting the flight.
The development comes amid an intensified Houthi mobilisation campaign in recent days, with the group organising tribal gatherings, armed rallies and public demonstrations across areas under its control while renewing calls to end what it describes as a Saudi-led blockade.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.
