Guterres condemns Houthi missile strike on Riyadh airport that Saudi authorities say killed 12

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned a Houthi missile attack on Riyadh's main airport in a statement issued late on Saturday. Saudi authorities say the strike on King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and wounded more than 300. “These attacks must cease immediately,” Mr. Guterres said. He added that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international law.

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said on Sunday that 309 people were wounded, some of them critically. UN News, citing Saudi authorities, reports that the dead include at least four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, a US citizen, and people from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Operations were suspended and flights were diverted. Late on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported that another projectile hit a passenger terminal at the airport, causing further injuries and a fire. The sources give no casualty figure for that second hit.

It was the third Houthi attack on the airport this week. Thursday's strikes killed three Saudis, including a Saudia pilot. Earlier attacks on King Khalid and Abha airports reportedly killed three more people and wounded 36.

Houthi media reported that the airport in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital the group has controlled for years, was hit by an airstrike on Sunday. They blamed Saudi Arabia. According to news reports, the vice-president of Yemen's internationally recognised government called on Sunday for decisive action by regional and international partners to end the Houthi aggression. The sources carry no Houthi statement on the Riyadh strike. The casualty figures come from Saudi authorities, and the sources do not show that the UN has verified them.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed dismay at the repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi airports. He said attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law. He called for these and other alleged violations by parties to the conflict to be investigated and for those responsible to be held to account. He urged the parties to de-escalate.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told his daily press conference that the Secretary-General is deeply concerned about continuing military escalation inside Yemen. Mr. Dujarric said Mr. Guterres urged all parties to show restraint.

The Houthis have fought the Saudi-backed government since 2014. A ceasefire reached in 2022 largely held until this summer. In September, the Houthis captured the port of Mokha and islands in the Bab al-Mandab strait. Early this month, government forces launched a counteroffensive, backed by Saudi-led air strikes, to retake all Houthi-held territory, including Sana'a. The Houthis answered with missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. UN News describes the fight for Bab al-Mandab as a spillover from the US-Iran conflict, which has disrupted oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Security Council met on Yemen on Friday morning in New York. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told ambassadors that the country had slid back into full-scale war. Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Mohamed Yahya said more than 200,000 people have been displaced since August, the highest new displacement since the 2022 truce.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned of rising needs, especially in Taiz governorate, where it said road restrictions are hampering civilians and supplies. It said funding cuts have closed 72% of safe spaces for women and girls across Yemen.

The sources report no Security Council action after the Riyadh strike. They also give no position from the United States government, although a US citizen is among the dead.