The UK will deploy RAF Typhoon jets to defend Saudi Arabia in response to escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, the government has said. The defensive mission will help defend Saudi cities and infrastructure - a move authorised by Prime Minister Andy Burnham - against aerial attacks by the Iran-backed group. It follows Houthi attacks on the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as on energy sites on the country's coast.
"These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis," Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said in a written statement on Tuesday. The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. The group said they were behind two strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on 10 and 11 October, which left 14 dead and more than 300 injured.
Houthis have been retaliating for strikes on territory that they control in western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. The UK will also deploy military advisers and an RAF A400M transport aircraft to support the movement of defence equipment within Saudi Arabia. It is already providing Saudi Arabia with defence support equipment to protect against aerial attacks and air-to-air refuelling for defensive Saudi operations.
The refuelling has now been extended by 90 days. In a separate statement, Streeting said the targeting of Riyadh airport "shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation in the region". "That's why today I have approved further UK military support," the defence secretary added.
Streeting also pointed to violence in the Gulf disrupting energy supplies and increasing costs for families and businesses. Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree vowed to continue the "escalating operations deep inside Saudi Arabia". Who are the Houthis and what do they want?
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