July 13, 2026, 5:09 p.mJuly 13, 2026, 5:09 p.m
In Yemen there was an air strike on the airport in the capital Sanaa. The Houthi militia blamed Saudi Arabia for this.
The runway was hit in Saudi attacks, reported the Houthi-affiliated TV station al-Masirah. Riyadh did not initially comment. A little later, the Yemeni Defense Ministry claimed responsibility for the attacks.
A civil war has been going on in Yemen for more than ten years and the country is effectively divided. The Iran-backed Houthi militia controls large areas in the north, including the capital Sanaa, while the Saudi-backed government controls the south.
According to the Yemeni Defense Ministry, the airstrikes were intended to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing on Yemeni soil. The Houthis, for their part, banned a plane from Yemen’s national airline from landing at Sanaa airport and instead insisted on an Iranian plane landing. In response, the airport runway was attacked.
Government: Houthis prevent ICRC flight from taking off
At the same time, the official government’s information minister, Muammar al-Erjani, announced that the Houthis had prevented an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plane from leaving the airport in the capital Sanaa and had taken the pilot and his assistant hostage.
Al-Erjani spoke of a “dangerous escalation” and a “brazen violation of international humanitarian law” and international agreements protecting humanitarian missions and their staff. The Houthis and the ICRC did not initially comment on this.
Ministry of Defense warning
Before the air strikes, the Defense Ministry warned the official government that it would use “all available means” to combat what it described as violations of Yemeni airspace by Iran and the Houthis.
According to information from Yemeni aviation circles, the Iranian plane has now landed at the airport in the port city of Hudaida, which is also controlled by the Houthis. A Houthi spokesman announced retaliation after the attack on the airport. Saudi Arabia must face the consequences of its aggression, he said.
Yemen is effectively divided
The Houthis overran the poor country on the Arabian Peninsula in 2014. In the north they enforce their ideology by force. They created state-like structures and, according to UN experts and the USA, armed themselves more and more with the help of Iran. Saudi Arabia supports the Yemeni government. A ceasefire came into force in the conflict in 2022, although minor skirmishes continue. (sda/dpa)