Britain deploys Typhoons to defend Saudi Arabia

RAF jets bolster Saudi air defences as Yemen crisis worsens

LONDON:

Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets on defensive missions over Saudi Arabia, the British Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday, as intensifying Houthi missile and drone attacks threaten the kingdom's cities, critical infrastructure and energy supplies.

The United Nations said that renewed fighting in Yemen has displaced more than 250,000 people, so far, and pushed the besieged city of Taiz towards a humanitarian catastrophe, warning that the closure of the city's only supply route to Aden was placing civilians at grave risk.

The Defence Ministry in London said that the fighter jets would help protect Saudi airspace against aerial attacks, following a request from Riyadh, adding that Britain will also provide an Atlas A400M transport aircraft and military advisers, expanding assistance announced in September.

The minister stressed that the aircraft would not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthi movement. Defence Minister Wes Streeting said the additional military support was intended to protect Saudi cities and infrastructure from missiles and drones.

The British deployment comes as Saudi forces reported intercepting a ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh on Tuesday, followed by the interception of a drone in the capital's vicinity. Authorities issued a brief danger warning, while two blasts were heard in the city, according to AFP journalists.

The latest incidents underscore the growing pressure on Saudi Arabia as the conflict spreads beyond Yemen's battlefields, threatening transport links, oil facilities and the kingdom's efforts to attract foreign investment.

The conflict has also intensified inside Yemen, where authorities said a Houthi strike on Monday against a training camp for security forces backed by Saudi Arabia killed 73 people. The renewed fighting has deepened the regional crisis.

As fighting escalated, the United Nations said that more than 250,000 people had been internally displaced in Yemen between August 1 and October 17. Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesman for the UN refugee agency, said the number of displaced people was continuing to rise sharply.

Around half of the newly displaced people are being hosted in Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, where Houthi fighters have encircled the urban centre since early October. The blockade has cut the road connecting Taiz to Aden, the interim capital of the Saudi-backed government.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for humanitarian assistance to enter Taiz immediately. He said restrictions on essential goods and access to safe water had sent commodity prices soaring, leaving many residents without food and other basic necessities.

The UN human rights office has verified that 32 civilians, including nine women and 14 children, were killed across Taiz governorate between August 1 and October 19. Another 115 civilians, including 34 women and 36 children, were injured during the same period.

Turk warned that fighting moving closer to densely populated areas could further increase civilian casualties. He urged the warring parties to refrain from using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas and to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that Taiz's health system was at "critical risk", with fighting and road closures threatening supplies of fuel, oxygen, medicines and other essentials needed to keep hospitals operating.