Yemeni Pilgrims Return to Saudi Arabia: Breaking the Airport Restrictions in Yemen

2023-06-18 10:52:30

: Archyde.com

Yesterday evening, Saturday, the first direct commercial plane took off from Sana’a Airport to Saudi Arabia for the first time since 2016.

And it carried Yemeni pilgrims, in a new indication of the progress of the truce understandings with Saudi Arabia in the country that has been mired in war for nine years.

It is noteworthy that the Houthi group has controlled the capital, Sanaa, since 2014, and that Riyadh supports the Yemeni government in its confrontation with the first.

The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen in support of the Yemeni government in the face of the Iran-backed Houthis imposed restrictions on the movement of the airport, and only aid and United Nations planes were allowed to land there.

Riyadh claimed that it was addressing the smuggling of weapons into Yemen, and the Houthis accused it, in return, of imposing a “siege” on the country, especially by closing the airport.

However, after the recent rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, negotiations were recently held between Saudi Arabia and the Ansar Allah Houthi movement in a new effort to bring peace to Yemen.

A shipping source, who refused to be named, said that the plane belonging to Yemeni Airlines is carrying 277 Yemeni pilgrims to Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia. He added that two other flights are expected to take off within the next 48 hours to complete the transportation of pilgrims, whose number is expected to exceed 600 pilgrims.

And Yemeni Airlines reported the possibility of operating a fourth additional flight if there is a need and turnout by pilgrims.

And the Minister of Guidance and Hajj Affairs in Yemen expressed his optimism about what he called “a good gesture to open airports to Yemeni travelers.”

Last year, indirect commercial flights were operated to transport pilgrims through Cairo and Amman airports, as part of a temporary armistice agreement.

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The War in Yemen: A Timeline from the Beginning of the Conflict to the Saudi-Houthi Talks

: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock