ADEN, Yemen | Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces attacked Aden International Airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones on Wednesday as fighting intensified between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces, raising fresh concerns over the security of a vital Red Sea shipping route and worsening an already severe humanitarian crisis.
Yemen’s Transport Ministry said at least two ballistic missiles and several drones targeted the airport’s runway and passenger terminal. One missile landed near the runway just minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to arrive, forcing authorities to cancel the landing and divert the aircraft to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Two aircraft on the tarmac were also moved away from the area. No casualties were immediately reported.
The attack came as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, supported by Saudi-led coalition air power, launched a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast, including areas near the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the port city of Mocha. The strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is one of the world’s key maritime passages.
The Houthis also claimed attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia, including airports and military facilities. Saudi authorities said they intercepted at least one Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh. The reported attacks came as Saudi forces became more deeply involved in the renewed campaign against the Houthis.
The renewed fighting is already producing a major displacement crisis. The International Organization for Migration said Wednesday that more than 200,000 people had been displaced from their homes since the latest fighting began in early September, a sharp increase from about 76,000 displaced people reported in mid-September. IOM said people had been displaced across 10 governorates, with Taiz among the hardest-hit areas, while more than 3,700 Yemenis had fled by sea to Djibouti.
The United Nations has warned that the renewed violence threatens to reverse years of efforts to reduce hostilities. A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 significantly reduced fighting, although it formally expired in October that year. The relative calm that followed was never a permanent peace agreement, and negotiations toward a broader political settlement remained unresolved.
Yemen’s conflict escalated into a full-scale war in 2014, when the Houthis seized control of the capital, Sana’a, and expanded into other parts of the country. Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in March 2015 at the request of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, leading to years of fighting involving regional powers and multiple Yemeni factions. The United Nations has described the resulting crisis as one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies.
The Houthis have also previously carried out cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and attacks affecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The UN Security Council has documented Houthi attacks against civilian infrastructure and commercial vessels, underscoring the wider regional and international consequences of the conflict.
The latest escalation comes amid heightened tensions across the Middle East, including the third anniversary of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the prolonged war in Gaza and contributed to the expansion of regional hostilities involving Yemen and other actors. The renewed fighting in Yemen adds another major pressure point around the Red Sea, where any prolonged disruption could affect international shipping, energy markets and humanitarian access.
For Yemenis, however, the immediate consequences are measured in displacement, food shortages and the loss of access to essential services. The latest surge in fighting has placed hundreds of thousands of people at risk while further complicating international efforts to achieve a lasting political settlement in a country that has endured more than a decade of war.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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