Saudis Hit a Yemeni Airport, Possibly Closing Aid Route
|
Version 0 of 1. SANA, Yemen — A Saudi-led military coalition carried out at least seven airstrikes on the international airport here on Tuesday, possibly crippling the airport in order to prevent an Iranian airplane from landing, according to Saudi and Yemeni officials. The airstrikes hit the main runway, endangering one of Yemen’s last usable airports and a major transit point for global aid shipments. An airport official said the damage had made it impossible to use the runway. The bombings demonstrated the extent to which Yemen has become trapped in the escalating regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia began its bombing campaign against the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen last month in large part to counter what Saudi officials saw as the influence of Iran, which has supported the Houthis. Saudi accusations that the Houthis were acting as an instrument of Iranian power were viewed by many Yemenis and Western diplomats as exaggerated or misplaced. Even so, the war in Yemen has ratcheted up tensions, raising fears of a broader conflict. Yemen’s airspace and seas have been tightly controlled by the Saudi-led coalition since the beginning of the offensive. The United Nations Security Council has also imposed an arms embargo on the Houthis. A Saudi military spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday that the Iranian airplane had not coordinated its landing in Sana with the coalition authorities and had ignored warnings to turn back. Iran’s state news agency said that the aircraft was an Iranian Red Crescent plane that had been carrying food and medicine. A list of flights provided by a Yemeni airport official showed that the flight had been expected and had been one of four flights scheduled to land in the airport on Tuesday. The purpose of the Iranian flight, operated by Mahan Air, was listed as “passenger trip.” The strikes destroyed at least one commercial plane on the tarmac, according to witnesses. The bombing of the airport threatened what had been one of Yemen’s few lifelines for international aid shipments, to counter what relief agencies say are critical shortages of medicine, food, fuel and other supplies. Relief officials are warning that the shortages are causing a humanitarian disaster. The United Nations said on Monday that hospitals in Yemen will shut down within a week unless they receive more fuel. On Tuesday, the United Nations said that new data showed that the number of people displaced because of the war had more than doubled in less than two weeks, to 300,000 people from an estimated 150,000 people 11 days ago. |