281,000 displaced in Yemen as new missile attack targets Aden airport and government complex
Key Facts
Ballistic missiles targeted Aden International Airport and the palace complex used by Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Yemeni military spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili said in a statement carried by The Associated Press. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, the agency reported. A Yemeni government official said initial information showed no casualties. The airport and palace were targeted as the country has seen repeated attacks on both sites. The statement carried by the agency gave no details of material damage in Aden.
In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency said coalition forces intercepted and destroyed a drone launched in the Makkah region. Reuters reported that the coalition announced it had intercepted another drone launched over the Madinah region, while the Houthis denied carrying out any attack toward the kingdom. Accounts differed on the scope of the interceptions: each side linked its report to a different region, and the statements cited did not establish that one source had intercepted drones over both regions. On Thursday, Saudi authorities said they had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh. The Civil Defense said debris caused minor injuries to a citizen and damaged a home and a vehicle.
Previous incidents in Aden point to repeated targeting of the airport and palace complex during October. On 16 October, two missiles struck the airport, in a second similar attack in less than 10 days, according to police quoted by The Associated Press; no injuries were reported in that incident. The agency also reported that an attack on the palace complex on 15 October killed at least 5 people. In the airport attack, two missiles landed about 500 meters from a Yemenia Airways plane preparing for takeoff, and its passengers were quickly evacuated. These incidents show how the initial toll from the current attack differs from the toll of the earlier strike on the palace, without resolving whether the Houthis were responsible for the latest attacks in Aden.
The escalation coincides with widening displacement in Yemen. The United Nations said the number of displaced people had exceeded 281,000 as of 30 October, and that the crisis was “spreading rather than stabilizing.” The International Organization for Migration had counted more than 184,000 people displaced between 1 August and 4 October, saying most had been displaced since the start of September. In the week from 27 September to 3 October, 21,798 people were displaced, up 26% from the previous week, according to the organization. The figures place the attacks within a worsening humanitarian crisis unfolding alongside the fighting. The reported facts do not estimate the impact of security developments on energy prices or financial markets.
Reuters said cross-border attacks between the Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and the Houthis, who control Sanaa, had escalated amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The agency described this as opening another front in the conflict. On 27 October, Saudi authorities said they had intercepted two ballistic missiles heading toward Riyadh and three toward the Eastern Province, according to an Associated Press report. Coalition forces also announced the interception of a cruise missile launched toward Saudi Arabia’s western region. The Houthis’ military spokesman, meanwhile, denied carrying out operations targeting the Makkah and Madinah regions, while the group did not immediately claim responsibility for the Aden attacks.