The Houthi-affiliated Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre warned airlines that Saudi Arabian airspace is "unsafe" amid escalating clashes. Al-Masirah reported the centre said the airspace could become a "theatre for operations" and that the "Republic of Yemen" would not accept responsibility. The alert exempts Mecca and Medina and follows a Saudi-backed operation called "Dawn of Yemen", with fighting concentrated around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Houthis Warn Airlines: Saudi Airspace 'Unsafe' as Fighting Escalates
FILE PHOTO - An Armed Hotuhi carries a gun during a pro Palestine protest in Sana'a. (is associated with: «Yemen's Houthis declare Saudi airspace 'unsafe' for airlines») Osamah Yahya/dpa
The Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre, affiliated with Yemen's Houthi movement, on Monday warned airlines that Saudi Arabian airspace is "unsafe" amid a renewed military escalation.
The centre, quoted by the Houthi-run broadcaster Al-Masirah, said Saudi airspace could become a "theatre for operations" for forces aligned with the movement and added that the "Republic of Yemen" would accept no responsibility following the alert.
The warning was described by the centre as a response to what it called "Saudi aggression" in the form of airstrikes on Yemen and was issued, it said, out of concern for the safety of civil aviation.
Mecca and Medina Exempted: The centre explicitly exempted the airspace above the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, saying those areas would remain "safe at all times" from its forces.
The advisory followed an announcement by Yemen's Saudi-backed leadership of an operation called "Dawn of Yemen", marking an escalation in clashes with the Iran-aligned Houthis on multiple fronts, notably around the Bab al-Mandab Strait — the strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In September, Houthi forces seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive, gaining access to the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Rival factions in Yemen have been engaged in heavy fighting for weeks, with both sides trading offensives and counter-offensives across several regions.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the Houthi statement.
International aviation and maritime interests will likely monitor the situation closely given the potential risks to flight routes and shipping lanes that pass through or near the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
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