Yemen's Houthi rebels have accused the US-backed Saudi-led coalition of bombing the country's main international airport, destroying a navigation station that is critical to receiving already limited aid shipments.
Houthi officials said two airstrikes targeted Sanaa's international airport in the rebel-held capital early on Tuesday, making it unusable for aid flights and further complicating humanitarian efforts into the country, Al Jazeera reported.
"This attack is intended to cause maximum damage and deprive millions of Yemenis from receiving life-saving food and medicines," Mohammed, a Houthi official who declined to give his surname, said. Saudi-led coalition forced the closure of Sanaa airport in August 2016 to all but a few UN aid flights.
The Houthi-run General Authority for Civil Aviation said in a statement the airstrike "led to the total destruction of the VOR/DME radio navigation system, taking it offline and thus halting the only flights at Sanaa airport —those of the UN and other international organizations delivering humanitarian assistance".
"The authority emphasizes that attack is an explicit violation of international covenants and treaties, which stipulate that civilian airports are not targeted," it added.
Last week, the Saudi-led coalition intensified its embargo on Yemen, closing all of the country's land, sea and air ports after Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh. On Monday, the coalition said it would ease the blockade and allow flights to Aden and open the southern city's port, but it refused to reopen Hodeidah port.
The UN says the closure of Hodeida port puts millions of civilians in the north at risk. Aden port, which is controlled by the coalition, does not have the capacity to handle the volume of humanitarian cargo.
