Houthis attack Aden airport as fighting intensifies in Yemen

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. Battles have 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 conflict between the US and Iran restricted trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

This week, Yemeni government forces with Saudi-led coalition air support launched a counter-offensive ‌to recapture strategic territory near the strait and around the town of Mocha that the Houthis had captured in September, but it is unclear if their advance will hold. The fighting, a spillover from the wider US-Iran conflict, has revived a complex 12-year war in Yemen that led to one of the worst humanitarian crises globally and fragmented the Arab world's most impoverished country. The number of people displaced since the latest round of fighting began has risen to more than 200,000, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday.

"People are running for their lives ‌and finding nowhere safe to go," said IOM Director General Amy Pope, who called for more funding amid rising needs for food and shelter. Both sides allege that hundreds of people have been killed in fighting, without providing details. The UN says three ‌in four families are going hungry in parts of Yemen. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted infrastructure including airports, oil refineries and pipelines in Saudi Arabia, a US ally.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of the Saudi capital Riyadh. It said it was tracking the launch platform over Houthi-controlled Sanaa and would destroy it, but gave no details of casualties or damage. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement that the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with several drones. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of an attack on the airport.

BATTLES OVER THE STRAIT Any Houthi stranglehold on the ⁠Strait could ​threaten shipping or global oil flows, and Saudi Arabia has been seeking international ⁠assistance to repel the Houthis. Turkey is sending mainly defensive and technical support, two officials said on Wednesday, after the NATO member and Pakistan pledged to implement a collective defence commitment under their newly formed alliance.

Fighting on the western front remains concentrated in the Dhubab district overlooking Bab el-Mandeb, with pro-government forces attempting an advance in ⁠the strategic hills to the east of that coastal plain, Yemeni military and government sources said. Fierce clashes have taken place, with the Houthis claiming they have repelled attacks. On Monday the Yemeni government said it had reached Mocha, which sits at a junction with a supply route to the critical battleground ​of Taiz, but the claim had been premature, according to Yemeni military officials on the ground and analysts.

Hussam Radman, a researcher at the Sanaa Center, a Yemen-focused think tank, said pro-government forces including the Giants Brigade, a conservative Sunni Salafi ⁠group that has led the counter-offensive, are trying to take control of Dhubab and to advance in the mountains to its east. Control of those highlands would allow for government forces to more easily advance up the rest of the coast, he said.

AIRPORT STRUCK Along Yemen's coast to the east, one missile landed near the runway at Aden ⁠International ​Airport minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land, the Transport Ministry said. Authorities cancelled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah, while two planes on the runway were moved away from the area over fears of further strikes, it added. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

Aden International Airport is the main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside Houthi control. The Houthis, who control much of Yemen's north, seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, fearful of ⁠rival Iran's influence in Yemen and chaos on its borders, to intervene. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted heavy fighting, but it did not lead to a lasting settlement.

The Saudi-led coalition accuses Iran of arming, training and funding the Houthis. The group, ⁠mountain fighters who have emerged as a force of tens of thousands ⁠with missiles and drones that threatens the region, denies being part of Iran's Middle East proxy network, and says it develops its own weapons. Tehran also rejects the allegations. Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched towards the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, Saudi state television reported.

In a separate statement, Saree said the Houthis had attacked Abha ‌International Airport and an airbase in Khamis ‌Mushait with ballistic missiles and drones. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm an attack on Abha airport. (Additional reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in ​Geneva; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Aidan Lewis)