ADEN — Yemen’s Houthis attacked Aden’s international airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones on Wednesday, the country’s Transport Ministry said, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces intensified, Reuters reported.
Two missiles targeted the airport early Wednesday and no casualties were reported, the media office of Aden’s security department said. The Transport Ministry said one missile landed near the runway minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land; authorities cancelled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah, moving two planes off the tarmac. The airport is the main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside Houthi control.
The same day, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and another launched toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, Saudi state television reported. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had also targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with drones; there was no immediate Saudi confirmation of that claim.
Saudi civil aviation authorities said two airports in the south of the kingdom — King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport — were damaged in Houthi strikes on Tuesday, wounding three people, the Wall Street Journal reported. Pakistan’s The News reported that Saudi authorities also said three people were killed in attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha over Tuesday and Wednesday.
The fighting has focused in recent days on areas around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a shipping route that has become more crucial for energy exports since the U.S.-Iran conflict restricted trade through the Strait of Hormuz. Yemeni government forces, with Saudi-led coalition air support, have launched a counteroffensive to recapture strategic territory near the strait and around the town of Mocha, which the Houthis seized in September.
The International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday that more than 200,000 people have been displaced since the latest round of fighting began. “People are running for their lives and finding nowhere safe to go,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope, who called for more funding for food and shelter. The United Nations says three in four families are going hungry in parts of Yemen. Both sides allege that hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting, without providing details.
Sources: Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, The News (Pakistan).
