Riyadh airport suspends operations after attack leaves several wounded

EMBASSY WARNINGS

The Yemen conflict flared back to life after a four-year, UN-brokered truce collapsed, months into a wider Middle Eastern war that has rocked the region and roiled energy supplies and markets.

The scale and frequency of the recent strikes targeting Riyadh are unprecedented in the eight months of war in the region.

Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that supports Yemen’s government militarily, and has found itself drawn deeper into its impoverished neighbour’s civil war.

Both Riyadh and the Houthis have signalled a willingness to keep fighting rather than pursue diplomacy. 

The US embassy in Saudi Arabia said it was “aware of attacks” on Riyadh airport on Saturday and called on American citizens to avoid the area. 

The Canadian, German and Spanish embassies also warned their citizens to avoid the facility. Spain’s embassy, in a message on X, alerted nationals to a “new attack… by the Houthis”.

A senior Western diplomat told AFP that several embassies “indicated that they had decided to prohibit their staffs’ travel to/from Riyadh Airport over the next week as a prudential step”. 

Near the airport, passengers carrying luggage could be seen standing on the pavement at a metro station.