Houthi missiles hit Aden airport after evacuation warning

Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at Aden International Airport on Wednesday, October 28, after the group told people to leave the facility. Officials in Yemen's internationally recognised government said the strikes halted air traffic at the main gateway to southern Yemen. Colonel Majed al-Nuzaily, a Yemeni military spokesperson, said two ballistic missiles wounded civilians and caused material damage. He called it the sixth Houthi attack on the airport.reuters.com+1

The strikes add to a run of attacks on Aden, the seat of the Saudi-backed government, as fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition has intensified in recent weeks.reuters.com

Warning and strikes

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree told people at the airport to "immediately evacuate due to the presence of a military cargo plane belonging to the Saudi enemy transporting weapons to kill the sons of the Yemeni people," according to AFP. Saudi authorities did not immediately comment.naharnet.com+1

An Aden police source told AFP that one Houthi missile had already landed inside the airport perimeter shortly before the warning was issued. A second missile later hit the part of the airport run by Saudi forces, the same source said. Yemen's Transport Ministry said the airport was hit twice on Wednesday. Citing witnesses, the Washington Times reported that at least one missile hit the nearby Al-Nasr Camp, which houses the Interior Ministry and the coast guard. The ministry described the strikes as a dangerous escalation that threatens civil aviation.washingtontimes.com+3

Al-Nuzaily did not say how many people were wounded. An aid source told Reuters that some UN staff left before the first strike and were unhurt. The International Organization for Migration said its staff passing through Aden were safe and accounted for.reuters.com+1

A string of attacks

The airport has been hit repeatedly this month. On October 21, a ballistic missile struck the runway just after two civilian flights took off. Departing flights were cancelled and the airport was evacuated. In an earlier attack, a missile landed near the runway minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land, and the plane was diverted to Jeddah.english.aawsat.com+1

Médecins Sans Frontières said this week that humanitarian workers were told to take shelter as one of its planes prepared to leave Aden. "Aden airport is the main entry point for humanitarian workers, supplies and medical equipment to the southern parts of Yemen, and safe access to it is crucial," the charity said.reuters.com

Wider escalation

Reuters reports the fighting has opened a new front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran. It has also broken a 2022 UN-brokered truce. Last month, Houthi forces pushed toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Since then, government forces have tried to retake Red Sea coastal territory, and the coalition has stepped up its airstrikes. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said 14 people were killed in what it called a Saudi attack in the northern Jawf region.reuters.com