- ARAB NEWS
- 01 May 2025
Since 1975
Arab News
LONDON: The UK on Thursday condemned the latest attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia that targeted Abha International airport.
The Iran-backed Houthis attacked the airport in the south of the Kingdom on Wednesday, leaving a commercial plane on the tarmac engulfed in flames.
“The Houthis must end these outrageous attacks,” foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a tweet.
Several countries and organizations have released statements condemning and denouncing the recent attack.
We condemn the Houthis’ latest attack against Saudi Arabia that hit a civilian plane at Abha Airport. The Houthis must end these outrageous attacks.
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) February 11, 2021
The UK is steadfast in its unwavering support for the security of Saudi territory.
Last week the Houthi militia also sparked international condemnation after launching a series of drones toward Saudi Arabia, which were intercepted by Arab coalition forces.
Raab said that “the UK is steadfast in its unwavering support for the security of Saudi territory.”
The new Biden administration has also renewed its commitment to protecting the Kingdom’s territory and its people.
The attack came only days after the US moved to delist the insurgents as “terrorists.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the European Parliament also condemned the ongoing violence in Yemen that had “degenerated into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” it said.
“There can be no military solution to the conflict and the crisis can only be resolved sustainably through an inclusive Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned negotiation process,” said MEPs in a resolution adopted on Thursday by 638 votes for, 12 against and 44 abstentions.
MEPs said nearly 80 percent of Yemenis — more than 24 million people — are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 50,000 people are living in famine-like conditions, calling on “all parties to facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief and other necessary goods to the population.”
They said this figure is expected to triple by the middle of the year.
“All parties must urgently refrain from starving civilians as a method of warfare, MEPs stress, whilst pushing for targeted measures to be imposed against those taking part in acts that violate international humanitarian law,” the statement added.
They also urged the European Commission and EU member states to lead international efforts to urgently scale up humanitarian aid, after the bloc pledged to triple aid this year.
