Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help defend the kingdom against increasing missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, the British government announced on Tuesday.1,4,6
The aircraft will protect Saudi cities and critical infrastructure from drones and missiles, the Ministry of Defence said. In a written statement, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: "These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis." The deployment follows a request from Saudi Arabia, and the BBC reported that it was authorised by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.1,4,6
Streeting singled out attacks on Riyadh's international airport, which has been targeted 20 times since the beginning of October. "The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable," he said.1
Casualty figures from the airport attacks differ between reports. Deutsche Welle said strikes on the airport this month had killed at least 18 people and wounded hundreds. The BBC reported that a single missile strike on the airport on 10 October killed 13 people and injured 308, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade, and that Saudi authorities had said the previous week that 19 people had been killed in Houthi attacks on the kingdom's airports.1,6
The expanded British support also includes an Atlas A400M military transport aircraft and military advisers. London has also extended for another 90 days its offer to provide air-to-air refuelling for Saudi aircraft operating against the Houthis. The package builds on military assistance that Britain announced in September.1
The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. The group ousted that government from the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. The BBC reported that a ceasefire of sorts in Yemen broke down in September, after which the Houthis launched a fresh offensive against the government and seized effective control of the Bab al Mandab strait.6
Government forces, backed by Saudi air cover, then mounted a counter-offensive, and the Houthis struck targets deep inside Saudi territory. The group hit Saudi infrastructure including King Khalid airport, energy facilities and key ports, the BBC reported.6
Fighting in Yemen has continued to escalate. More than 70 security personnel were killed earlier this week in a Houthi missile strike on a camp in Yemen's central province of Shabwa, according to the BBC. A spokesman for the Saudi-backed Yemeni armed forces said the group launched three ballistic missiles at the al-Alam camp near Ataq city. The Houthis' military spokesman said the group had targeted "Saudi enemy concentrations."6
The Houthis have said they are retaliating for strikes on territory they control in western Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. The Houthi-run health ministry in north-western Yemen said Saudi air and artillery strikes had killed at least 141 people and injured 395 since 3 September. The government's health ministry said at least 1,282 people had been killed in the conflict across Yemen since 6 August. The BBC attributed both sets of figures to those ministries and did not independently confirm them.6
Streeting, speaking in a video the BBC published with its report, said the UK had a "responsibility to back allies and protect civilians." The jets will be stationed in Saudi Arabia to defend against aerial attacks, a role the government has said will not extend to striking targets in Yemen.6
The reports do not say when the Typhoons will arrive in Saudi Arabia or how many aircraft will be deployed. None of the reports included a response from the Houthis to the British announcement. The next step will be the deployment itself, which the government has described as a defensive mission.1,6