Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked the international airport in Aden on Wednesday with ballistic missiles and drones, according to Yemen's Transport Ministry, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces grows more intense.
The ministry said one missile came down near the runway just minutes before a flight from Cairo was scheduled to land. The plane was turned away and diverted to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and two aircraft already on the runway were moved out of the area. Aden's airport is the main international gateway for the parts of Yemen not controlled by the Houthis.
Strikes on Saudi Arabia, too
The Saudi-led coalition said it shot down Houthi ballistic missiles on Wednesday, one north of Riyadh and another aimed at the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait. A Houthi military spokesperson claimed the group had also sent drones at Riyadh's main airport and targeted Abha International Airport and an air base. Saudi authorities had not confirmed attacks on those airports.
Why the fighting matters beyond Yemen
Much of the recent fighting has been near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway at the southern end of the Red Sea. It has become even more important for energy shipments since the conflict between the United States and Iran restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. If the Houthis gained a firm grip on the area, it could put shipping and global oil supplies at risk.
This week, government forces backed by coalition air power launched a counter-offensive to win back ground near the strait and around the town of Mocha, which the Houthis captured in September. Reuters reported that a government claim to have reached Mocha on Monday was premature, and it's unclear whether the push will hold. Turkey is sending mostly defensive and technical help to Saudi Arabia, two officials said.
A growing humanitarian toll
The International Organization for Migration said Wednesday that more than 200,000 people have now been displaced by the latest round of fighting. Its director general, Amy Pope, said people "are running for their lives and finding nowhere safe to go" and asked for more funding for food and shelter. The United Nations says three out of four families are going hungry in parts of the country.
The new fighting has reopened a war that began more than a decade ago, after the Houthis took the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 mostly stopped the heavy fighting but never produced a lasting peace deal.