Yemeni forces struck a runway at Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing, Yemen’s Defence Ministry has said.
A ministry statement carried by the official news agency Saba said on Monday that the Houthis prevented Yemeni flights from landing at Sanaa airport and allowed the Iranian plane to land “in violation of Yemeni territory.”
“As a result, the airport runway was targeted,” the ministry added. The ministry had earlier called for the evacuation of Sanaa airport, warning civilians to stay away from the area.
In response, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree vowed in a post through X that the strike “will not pass without retaliation and punishment.”
Earlier, Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani accused the Houthis of seizing an aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at Sanaa airport and preventing it from departing.
In a post on X, Eryani said the group detained the aircraft along with its pilot and co-pilot, calling the move a “dangerous escalation” and a “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law and international norms protecting humanitarian missions and personnel.
Meanwhile, Iranian media reported that an Iranian aircraft landed at Al Hudaida Airport in western Yemen, shortly after Yemeni forces bombed a runway at Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport.
Press TV said the aircraft landed in Al Hudida on the Red Sea coast after the runway at Sanaa airport was targeted earlier in the day.
