Yemen22 September, 20262 min read
Andy Burnham Approves Time-Limited UK Air Refueling Support for Saudi Jets Against Houthis
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UK to provide defensive air-to-air refueling for Saudi fighter jets. RAF Voyager tanker to operate from Cyprus in support missions.
UK to refuel Saudi jets
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the United Kingdom agreed to provide Saudi Arabia “defensive” air-to-air refuelling for Saudi fighter jets conducting missions in its war against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group. The UK said it would deploy one Royal Air Force Voyager tanker aircraft to assist “in the coming days,” and the arrangement would be “time-limited” and kept under review, with the UK Ministry of Defence not specifying a timetable.
Burnham said he accepted a request from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support on the advice of his defence and foreign secretaries, and he linked the decision to keeping oil export routes open. The UK said its support builds on its existing military contribution to Saudi Arabia’s air defence, including “air defence equipment and UK personnel helping to protect against missile and drone attacks.”
Houthi advances and targets
Al Jazeera said particularly heavy fighting erupted again two weeks ago as the Houthis advanced against Yemeni forces to the Red Sea coast, taking the strategic port city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb. Al Jazeera said the Houthis targeted Riyadh as well as Saudi oil infrastructure, including taking out a section of the vital East-West Pipeline that had allowed Saudi to make oil exports despite disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
AP said the Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, attacking Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities inside the kingdom. AP said Burnham told reporters the agreement is for a matter of weeks and that the UK will provide air-to-air refuelling of Saudi planes to repel attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
UN urges restraint, weeks
The United Nations condemned the ongoing cross-border Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, including the attempt to attack Riyadh, and Stéphane Dujarric said the attacks “adds to attacks against civilians and energy facilities in other parts of Saudi Arabia.” Dujarric said the UN remained “very concerned about the ongoing military escalation in Yemen and the surrounding areas,” and he cited “serious consequences for civilians in Yemen and the region.”
Al Jazeera said the UK support would not directly join Riyadh’s renewed conflict with the Houthis that began in 2014 after the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa along with large areas of northwest Yemen. BBC said Defence Minister Luke Pollard described the support as “purely defensive” and time-limited for a “matter of weeks, rather than days,” with the RAF Voyager operating from a UK base in Cyprus.