Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Yemeni airport

The Houthi movement, which controls northern Yemen, accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes on Sanaa’s international airport and vowed to retaliate by testing a ceasefire in the long-running conflict between the kingdom and the pro-Iran group.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree described the attacks as “blatant aggression” and said they ended a period of de-escalation.

He said regional power Saudi Arabia would bear the consequences and that the attack would not go unanswered.

The Saudi government’s communications office did not immediately respond to the accusations.

The general aviation authority of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government ordered all airports across the country to close and announced hours later that they had reopened.

Earlier on Monday, the government’s defense ministry said the runway at Sanaa International Airport was targeted to prevent the Iranian plane from landing.

An armed forces spokesman later said the plane landed at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport.

It was unclear whether any attempt had been made to prevent it from landing in Hudaydah, about 150 kilometers southwest of Sanaa on Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

Another minister said Houthi rebels detained another plane belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Sanaa airport.

The government, which carries out its activities from the southern port of Aden, receives the support of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

In addition to forcing a ceasefire in the conflict, Monday’s violence could also disrupt broader efforts to calm the conflict in the region, given that the Houthi movement is aligned with Iran.

Saudi Arabia has remained relatively isolated from the Iranian conflict and has not faced the same degree of Iranian attacks as other Gulf countries.

The resumption of conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia could change this.