Yemen rebels threaten UAE and Saudi ports, airports

YEMEN’S Iran-backed Huthi rebels yesterday threatened retaliation against the ports and airports of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which this week closed the Yemeni land, sea and air borders.

“All airports, ports, border crossings and areas of any importance to Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be a direct target of our weapons, which is a legitimate right,” a statement released by the rebels’ political office said.

Allied with Yemen’s government, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been battling the Huthis on Yemeni land since 2015.

The Huthis’ statement comes the day after the coalition announced it had closed all of Yemen’s borders, after Saudi forces intercepted a ballistic missile headed for the airport in Riyadh. The Huthis have claimed the missile attack. The United Nations on Monday reported that the Saudi-led coalition had prevented two humanitarian aid flights from flying to the war-torn country.

The UN yesterday urged the coalition to end the blockade of Yemen to allow the flow of humanitarian supplies into the country, where seven million people are facing famine-like conditions.

“If these channels, these lifelines, are not kept open, it is catastrophic for people who are already in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” UN humanitarian office (OCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke said in Geneva.

The coalition had also asked the UN to clear ships from the port of Hodeidah, which “is the backbone of the humanitarian operations in Yemen”, OCHA said in a statement.

“Fuel, food and medicine imports must continue to enter the country,” Laerke said. “This is an access problem of colossal dimensions.”

In the immediate aftermath of the blockade, fuel prices have jumped by up to 60% and cooking gas prices have doubled, he said.

The UN agency is in talks with the coalition to restore access as soon as possible, Laerke said.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Huthis forced him into exile.

Last month, the UN put the coalition on its blacklist for killing and maiming 683 children during the conflict last year. – AFP