Yemen govt says it attacked Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport

Yemen's internationally recognized government said it struck Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport on Monday, its biggest flare-up in years with the rebels. The Houthis blamed the government's Saudi backers for the attack and threatened retaliation, raising fears for a truce that has held since 2022.

Why did Yemen's government attack Sanaa airport?

The government said it wanted to stop an Iranian plane from landing in the capital, after failing to convince a Houthi delegation returning from Iran's late supreme leader's funeral to board a Yemenia flight instead. Yemen's defense ministry said the airport runway was targeted because the Houthis had allowed the Iranian aircraft to violate Yemeni territory.

How have the Houthis responded to the Sanaa airport attack?

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of ending the de-escalation phase and warned the aggression would not go unanswered. The Houthis' foreign affairs ministry said the attack marked the end of the ceasefire and the start of war, while broadcaster al-Masirah reported the Iranian plane had landed carrying medical patients, stranded citizens and the rebels' official delegation.

What does this mean for Yemen's 2022 ceasefire?

The escalation threatens to unravel the truce that has held since 2022, at a time of heightened regional tensions as the United States and Iran trade attacks across the Gulf. Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, said he had ordered that the confrontation not be expanded in a way that would serve Iran's aim of dragging Yemen into further war.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg urged all sides to turn to diplomacy, saying his office had contacted military representatives from every party and was pressing them to de-escalate. Mohammed al-Basha of the US-based Basha Report said the cycle of action and retaliation could mark the collapse of the April 2022 ceasefire framework if it continues, with the coming days likely to show whether both sides move toward sustained military escalation.

What led to the tensions between Yemen's government and the Houthis?

For more than a decade, aircraft entering Yemeni airspace have needed prior clearance from the Saudi-led coalition that backs the government and enforces the restriction at Riyadh's request. The Houthis appeared to challenge that arrangement by organizing direct flights between Iran and Sanaa, angering the government and its Saudi backer.

Tensions had been building for days after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia earlier this month of attacking an Iranian plane that had landed in and later departed Sanaa. The rebels had threatened to strike Saudi airports and other assets if Riyadh violated their airspace again, and the government ordered all Yemeni airports closed until further notice on Monday.

The Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and caused a major humanitarian crisis. The rebels control Sanaa and most of northern Yemen's population centers, while the internationally recognized government holds much of the south.