Britain to provide Saudi Arabia with defensive military support as Houthi clashes continue
By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.
Yemen's Houthi group is fighting against the Saudi-backed forces in Al Jouf Province, Yemen, September 14, 2026. /VCG
Britain will provide defensive air-to-air refueling support to Saudi Arabia in response to recent attacks by Yemen's Houthi group, the BBC cited British Prime Minister Andy Burnham as saying on Monday.
Burnham made the announcement to reporters aboard his plane en route to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to the report, saying he had agreed to a Saudi request for military support.
The support is expected to begin in the coming days and involve a Royal Air Force Voyager aircraft providing air-to-air refueling for Saudi jets. British officials said the deployment would initially last for several weeks.
The planned deployment adds to the military support available to Saudi Arabia as the country's clashes with the Houthis intensify both inside Yemen and across the border, raising growing concerns among various parties.Β
Saudi airstrikes hit a market and a school in southwestern Yemen's Taiz Province on Monday, killing at least one person, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, as fighting intensifies across the country's southwest.
The channel, citing a local source, said that Saudi warplanes struck a public market in Dhubab district, a coastal area south of the Red Sea port city of Mocha and near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Farther inland, five airstrikes hit Hayfan district in southern Taiz, killing one civilian, the report said. The channel added that Al-Thawrah School in the district was also hit, without giving details of casualties or damage.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, and the reported strikes and casualty figure could not be independently verified.
The airstrikes came as government forces and Houthi fighters remain locked in fighting in southwestern Yemen, where control of frontline positions has shifted repeatedly in recent days.
The Houthis have recently made major gains along Yemen's southwestern Red Sea coast, seizing Taiz Province's port city of Mocha on September 10, then pushing south to capture Dhubab and take Mayyun Island in the heart of Bab al-Mandab Strait on September 11.
Government forces are now trying to block further Houthi advances along the mountainous approaches to the strategic waterway.
Yemen's Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned TΓΌrkiye and Pakistan against involvement in the group's escalating confrontation with Saudi Arabia.
In a televised speech broadcast by the al-Masirah TV channel, al-Houthi urged the two countries not to become "entangled" in the conflict in pursuit of political or economic interests with Riyadh.
Al-Houthi also alleged that Saudi Arabia was seeking to bring fighters from Syria into the conflict, without providing evidence to support the claim.
On the possibility of de-escalation, the Houthi leader said his group was not demanding "impossible conditions," reiterating its call for an end to Saudi military operations and what the Houthis describe as a blockade.
He called on his supporters to maintain mobilization and continue strengthening the group's military and security capabilities amid the escalating confrontation.
The warning came as the Houthi-Saudi confrontation spills increasingly across the border, with Saudi airstrikes in Yemen met by Houthi missile and drone attacks deep inside the kingdom. Al-Houthi said on Monday that Saudi Arabia had launched 760 airstrikes since the latest escalation began.
There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia, TΓΌrkiye or Pakistan to al-Houthi's remarks.
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7 in the Saudi city of Mecca, stipulating that an attack on any signatory will be considered an attack on all. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last Saturday that TΓΌrkiye would keep its promise under the agreement and could provide technical assistance to Saudi Arabia.
The United Nations on Monday condemned the continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia while urging all parties to exercise restraint and prevent any further escalation.
"We reiterate our condemnation of the continued Houthi cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, including the attempt to target Riyadh, the capital. And this is in addition to attacks against civilians and energy infrastructure elsewhere in Saudi Arabia," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general said.
"We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing military escalation in and around Yemen, including Houthis offensives in Taiz, Lahj and Marib, with grave consequences for civilians in Yemen and across the region," Dujarric told reporters at a news briefing.
The United Nations urges the parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, which includes the prohibition against direct attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, he said.
According to Dujarric, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg is currently in Muscat, meeting with senior Omani officials and representatives of the Houthis.
