Yemen Urges UN Action On Iranian Arms

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Yemen’s government has urged the UN Security Council to take stronger action against Iranian weapons transfers to the Houthis, after a Houthi ballistic missile struck a health center in Lahij, killing five people, including three medical workers, and wounding 15 others. Yemen’s UN ambassador, Abdullah al-Saadi, also condemned a missile attack on Aden airport on Friday, which he described as the seventh such attack within a month.

The missile hit the Al-Saqiyah Health Center in Lahij governorate, according to Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population. Seven of the 15 wounded were also medical staff. Yemeni armed forces said the missile was launched from Houthi-held areas. Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani called it a “fully-fledged terrorist crime” and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and the ministry asked the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross to condemn the attack, protect health facilities and investigate. The Houthis had not commented when Yahoo reported.

Aden airport, the main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside Houthi control, has been hit repeatedly this month. A missile landed near the runway on October 7 shortly before a flight from Cairo was due to land, and the flight was diverted to Jeddah. Two missiles landed inside the airport perimeter on October 16, and on October 28 two ballistic missiles struck after the Houthis told people to evacuate, diverting flights, according to Gulf News and Al Jazeera. Yemen’s Transport Ministry had already counted four attacks this month by October 24. The Houthis have said they are targeting Saudi forces and weapons depots at a military camp beside the airport and warned Saudi forces not to use the civilian airport for military purposes.

The attacks are part of a sharp escalation that began when fighting resumed in July and the 2022 truce broke down. After the Houthis swept down the Red Sea coast in September, the government launched the “Dawn of Yemen” offensive on October 5 to retake Sanaa. On Monday the Yemeni army said it had carried out 951 strikes on Houthi targets in 24 hours, claims that have not been independently verified. The Houthis have also hit Saudi Arabia, including the Aramco headquarters in Dhahran on October 13 and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, where the Saudi-led coalition said 17 people had been killed and more than 330 wounded between October 1 and October 15. The Security Council condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and on Red Sea shipping on October 15, and a Saudi foreign ministry official accused Iran of continuing to arm, train and support the Houthis in violation of UN resolutions. Iran says it played no role in the attacks and that it is ready to help resolve differences between Riyadh and the Houthis if both sides ask. Yemeni forces in Shabwa announced on October 25 the seizure of smuggled weapons intended for the Houthis.

Shipping weapons to the Houthis violates a UN arms embargo, according to earlier reporting by The Defense Post. The conflict has become another front in the wider war involving Iran, with the Houthis escalating attacks on the world’s largest crude exporter, The National reported.