Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis issued a strong warning to civil aviation companies, saying that Saudi airspace is not safe, as military clashes between the Houthis and Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government continue to escalate.
The Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre affiliated with Houthi forces said in a statement published by the Saba News Agency: “We warn all airlines operating in Saudi airspace that this airspace is no longer safe.”
The Houthis justified the warning as being aimed at protecting the security and safety of civil aviation and the lives of citizens, but at the same time threatened that Saudi airspace would become an arena for operations by their armed forces. The statement said that the Republic of Yemen would bear no responsibility for any incident after this announcement.
The threat comes as military tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in the region have reached a dangerous level, while the use of countries’ airspace for military operations has further complicated the situation.
