The Yemeni government has warned the Security Council and the United Nations of risks it says threaten the safety of international civil aviation over the southern Red Sea, as a result of the Houthi group’s use of Iranian-origin weapons launched from areas under its control in Hudaydah governorate towards international air routes.
Yemen calls for urgent international action
Yemen’s permanent mission to the United Nations sent a letter on the matter to Security Council President Jérôme Bonnafont and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The letter called for urgent international action to address the threat, along with enforcement of the arms embargo imposed on the Houthis.
The government said it had documented the group’s use of Iranian-origin air-defence weapons that were modified inside Yemen with the involvement of experts from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and converted into missiles capable of remaining airborne for up to 25 minutes. It said the weapons use heat-tracking systems to detect heat sources without distinguishing between targets.
Missile threat to civilian aviation
According to the government warning, launching these weapons near international air routes poses a direct danger to civilian aircraft and passengers, including those travelling on UN and humanitarian flights. The government stressed that the threat extends beyond Yemeni territory to air corridors over the southern Red Sea.
The letter referred to the Houthis targeting commercial vessels and threatening maritime traffic in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab, saying the group is currently developing capabilities that could endanger civil aviation over the same strategic corridor. The government called on member states to fully implement the arms embargo and prevent weapons, components, technology and military expertise from reaching the Houthis.
It also called for urgent coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to assess the risks facing aircraft and air routes in the region. The government expressed its readiness to provide technical evidence to the Yemen Panel of Experts and the relevant international bodies, including data on launch sites and projectile trajectories.
It called on the Security Council to circulate the letter as an official document and take action to prevent the spread of these capabilities and hold accountable those responsible for supplying and developing them.
