SANAA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) — Yemen’s Houthi group on Sunday renewed its warning to airlines, aviation workers and travelers against using airports and airspace in Saudi Arabia amid escalating cross-border hostilities.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement posted on social media platform X that Saudi airports and airspace, except for the airports in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, remained “exposed to targeting” and constituted an area of operations for the group’s forces.
Sarea urged airlines, aviation personnel and travelers to take the warnings seriously, saying the Houthis would maintain their declared formula of “airport for airport, blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation” until the group achieves its objectives.
The renewed warning came a day after an attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation.
The airport has been repeatedly targeted amid a sharp escalation in recent days, as the Houthis stepped up missile and drone attacks against targets inside Saudi Arabia while the Saudi-led coalition intensified airstrikes against Houthi-held areas in Yemen.
Meanwhile, fighting has intensified in southwestern Yemen, particularly near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, where Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition have been battling Houthi forces.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government, which is now based in the southern port city of Aden.
