Riyadh airport partially reopens amid renewed Houthi-Saudi coalition attacks
Riyadh/Sanaa: Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has resumed partial operations, even as Yemen’s Houthi movement and the Saudi-led coalition continued a fresh round of missile, drone and air attacks, triggering renewed warnings over air travel and regional security.
The airport had halted operations after Houthi strikes caused casualties, with the group subsequently declaring the facility unsafe for airlines, staff and passengers.
The Houthis said they fired dozens of ballistic missiles in three separate attacks on Saudi Arabia on Sunday. They claimed the first strike targeted King Khalid International Airport, while the others were directed at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and a Saudi Border Guard naval base in Jazan.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea also warned against the use of Saudi airspace, while exempting the airspace over Mecca and Medina. In a separate statement carried by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, a military source cautioned civilians and workers against approaching Saudi oil facilities and warned Saudi Aramco shareholders of potential losses.
The Saudi-led coalition, however, said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 12 missiles and two drones launched towards the kingdom. It said a ballistic missile and two drones were among those targeting the Riyadh region.
Saudi civil defence authorities said a Saudi citizen and an Asian resident were injured after debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles fell in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah governorates. The falling debris also damaged three residential buildings and seven vehicles.
The Houthis described their strikes as retaliation for what they called Saudi aggression against Sanaa and other areas under their control the previous day. They alleged that the attacks had killed or wounded dozens of people, including women and children.
Sarea further claimed that Saudi forces had carried out 56 air and missile strikes over 24 hours, targeting what he described as civilian sites in Hajjah, Lahj, Amran, Saada, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Ibb provinces.
Later on Sunday, loud explosions were reported in Aden, Yemen’s southern port city, particularly around the Salah al-Din area of Al-Buraiqa district. The area is considered strategically important as it houses key military bases of the Yemeni government forces and the Saudi-led coalition. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the Houthis did not immediately comment.
The exchange of fire marks a sharp escalation in the conflict between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition. The fighting has been marked by Saudi-led airstrikes on Houthi-held areas and Houthi missile and drone attacks on government-controlled territory.
Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy, during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Cairo, condemned attacks on Arab countries and reaffirmed the League’s support for Saudi Arabia’s right to protect its security and sovereignty.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
(Inputs from IANS)