A runway dispute in Sanaa turns into missile fire over Abha

For a region that likes to describe its crises as contained, this one has a familiar habit of proving the opposite. Yemen’s Houthis said they launched missiles and drones at Abha International Airport in south-western Saudi Arabia after air strikes hit Sanaa’s airport, and the old choreography of escalation resumed with depressing ease.

The Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said its air defences intercepted the missiles and that no casualties were reported. That is the sort of statement that calms exactly nobody, but it does at least suggest that the attack did not produce immediate loss of life.

The strike on Sanaa was blamed by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia, which they accused of blatant aggression. The government in Aden, by contrast, said it had carried out the attack itself in order to stop an Iranian plane from landing at the airport in the Houthi-held capital. The Yemeni defence ministry said Houthi militias, backed by the Iranian regime, had blocked a Yemeni national aircraft while insisting on allowing the Iranian plane to enter the country. The runway was then targeted, according to the ministry.

Footage circulating on social media showed smoke rising above rooftops in Sanaa after the airport strikes. Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said the departure and landing runways were hit. The Iranian aircraft later diverted and landed in Hudaydah on the Red Sea coast, about 150 kilometres to the south-west, according to the Houthis.

The immediate dispute over one aircraft says a great deal about the wider war. Since 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa, Yemen has been torn apart. The conflict widened in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore the government. More than 150,000 people are reported dead, and the UN says over 22 million need some form of aid. That is what “frozen conflict” looks like when it is left to fester.

What makes Monday’s exchange more serious is not only the target — an airport, of all places — but the political message behind it. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Sanaa strikes ended the de-escalation phase and would not go unanswered. He then announced attacks on Abha airport and warned airlines against using Saudi airspace until the blockade on Sanaa airport is lifted. The Saudi-led coalition later said its air defences had dealt with ballistic missile threats launched towards the southern region.

The United Nations reacted with the sort of alarm that usually appears when the adults in the room realise the children have found the matches. At an emergency Security Council meeting, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari warned that Yemen and the wider region could not afford another round of escalation and urged negotiations under UN auspices. Britain condemned what it called reckless Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Iran, for its part, condemned the strike on Sanaa airport as a clear violation of international law. The region, naturally, remains a model of mutual restraint.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com