Houthi spokesman says Mecca, Medina airports exempt from targeting
The Houthis on Sunday warned travelers and airlines against using Saudi airports — the group’s first public message since Saturday’s deadly assault on Riyadh’s main international airport, according to The Guardian’s live coverage.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said airports and airspace “are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces,” adding that the group was pursuing “airport for airport, siege for siege, and escalation for escalation.”
He said airports in Mecca and Medina — the holiest cities in Islam — were excepted from the warning.
The statement followed a week of Houthi strikes on the main international airport, which was first targeted about a fortnight ago as fighting ramped up within Yemen, according to the same account.
The attacks have unfolded as the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government forces launched an outright offensive in the country this week to push back the Houthis, who have rapidly seized and gained territory in recent weeks.
The Houthis have taken over islands in the Bab al-Mandab strait and staked stronger positions along the Red Sea, seizing control of the main passageway through which Saudi Arabia — a top oil exporter — had been diverting its oil flows while the Strait of Hormuz remains shut off.
The warning instructed travelers and airlines to avoid Saudi airports.