6 هجمات على عدن خلال شهر .. إرهاب الحوثي يستبيح المطارات

The criminal Houthi missiles have returned to strike the doors of Aden International Airport, marking the sixth attack in October, amid rising fears of civil airports turning into military pressure points. This scene brings back to the forefront an Iranian strategy that targets vital installations, disrupts air traffic, and uses civilian safety as a bargaining chip in regional conflicts.

The latest attack occurred yesterday, Friday, just minutes after an urgent call to evacuate the airport, with employees reporting a missile landing inside the airport, without any official comment from government authorities regarding the extent of the damages or losses.

6 Attacks... and the runways are under threat

A series of attacks on Aden Airport during October reveals a gradual escalation, starting on the seventh of the month with an attack involving explosive drones and two ballistic missiles, one of which fell near the runway just before a Yemenia Airlines flight from Cairo was about to land, forcing authorities to divert the aircraft and evacuate the airport of passengers and staff.

The shelling resumed on October 16 and 17 with two missiles landing within the airport premises, approximately 500 meters from an aircraft preparing for takeoff to an international destination, without any recorded human losses, before the airport witnessed another attack on October 21, when a ballistic missile fell near the runway during air traffic operations.

The nature and timing of these attacks indicate risks that go beyond direct damages, as the mere approach of a missile to an active runway threatens the safety of hundreds of passengers, forcing authorities to suspend flights and reroute aircraft, which exacerbates the isolation of Yemeni cities and adds new burdens on the population.

Iranian fingerprints in the target bank

The repeated targeting of Yemeni and Saudi airports raises questions about the similarities between Houthi tactics and the Iranian military approach in the region, especially following attacks on civil aviation facilities in several Gulf countries during the recent military confrontation with Iran.

During the 12-day war, airports and vital installations emerged as targets of Iranian attacks in Gulf countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar, in the context of a military escalation that sought to broaden the scope of regional pressures and increase the economic and security costs of the confrontation.

Observers believe that the Houthis' targeting of airports reflects a similar trend in choosing sensitive targets, where civil air traffic becomes a means of pressure on governments, and the safety of travelers becomes part of the escalation calculations.

This similarity enhances fears of the transfer of Iranian confrontation patterns to the spheres of influence of armed militias linked to Tehran, threatening the safety of air navigation and regional stability.

Squeezing Aden and confusing the government

Internally in Yemen, the missile escalation coincides with intensifying military confrontations on several fronts, particularly in Taiz, Bab al-Mandab, and the western coast, amid estimates linking the attacks to the Houthis' attempts to compensate for their battlefield losses by expanding the targeting circle to civil and vital installations.

Observers believe that the pressure on Aden and Mukalla airports serves overlapping goals, including attempts to weaken the government's ability to manage sovereign facilities, disrupt economic and humanitarian movement, and portray the cities under its control as unsafe areas.

Airports gain exceptional importance in a country ravaged by war for 12 years, as they represent essential outlets for the travel of patients, students, and families, the arrival of delegations and aid, and the continuation of communication with the outside world.

With each new attack, the circle of those affected expands, including travelers, airlines, and economic activities, while it becomes increasingly difficult to restore regular flight schedules amid repeated missile threats.

From truce to escalation

After nearly four years of a de-escalation phase that followed the truce, without reaching a comprehensive political settlement, airports return to the forefront, indicating the fragility of the ceasefire and the continued ability of Houthi militias to threaten civil installations using ballistic missiles and drones.

Since the recent military escalation in August, attacks have expanded to include Aden and Mukalla airports, alongside attacks targeting Saudi airports, amid fears that the continuation of this approach could broaden the scope of tension beyond Yemen's borders.

A new test for the international stance

The repeated Houthi escalation places the international community before a test concerning the protection of civil aviation and preventing the use of airports as tools for military coercion, especially since targeting civil installations or endangering flights constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law depending on the circumstances of each attack.

Observers warn that treating these assaults as separate incidents may obscure the nature of the accumulated threat, given the similarities between the targets chosen by the group and those that have been attacked by Iranian forces in the region.

With the repeated landing of missiles near aircraft runways, the question extends beyond the future of Aden Airport to the safety of Yemeni and Gulf airspace in general, and the extent to which international efforts can prevent civil airports from becoming permanent targets in regional conflicts.

Every missile that lands near a civil runway threatens a flight and opens a new front of risks to the security and stability of the region.