Key Takeaways
- The UK will deploy RAF Typhoon fighter jets to help Saudi Arabia defend against Houthi attacks.
- The deployment is part of additional defensive military support to Riyadh.
- The Saudi capital’s international airport has been targeted by strikes 20 times since the beginning of the month.
The UK government has announced the deployment of British fighter planes to assist Saudi Arabia in defending against increasing attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated that the deployment is part of 'additional defensive military support' to Riyadh.
According to the MoD, RAF Typhoon fighter jets will operate in a defensive role to protect Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attacks. These aircraft will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis.
In addition to the fighter jets, a military transport aircraft will be deployed to support the movement of defence material within Saudi Arabia alongside UK military advisers to assist Saudi staff officers.
Defence Minister Wes Streeting condemned the ongoing attacks, stating, 'The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to (to) escalate the situation in the region.'
The Saudi capital’s international airport has been targeted by strikes 20 times since the beginning of the month, with a recent attack killing 13 people and wounding more than 300.
The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports, and causing energy prices to jump. They have also been raining missiles on the kingdom.
Yemen’s civil war, in which Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting the government since 2015, has reignited in September after the collapse of a years-long truce. Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government, and the United States accuse Iran of backing the Houthis, a claim Tehran denies.
The UK’s move comes as part of a broader international effort to support Saudi Arabia in its ongoing conflict with the Houthi rebels.
The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable.
Wes Streeting, Defence Minister
