Newsletters
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that the United Kingdom will provide "defensive" air-to-air refueling support to Saudi Arabia following attacks on the kingdom by Yemen's Houthi group, speaking to reporters as he traveled to the UN General Assembly in New York.
Burnham said the decision came after Saudi Arabia requested "military support," which he approved on the advice of Defense Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
"We have received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support, and on the advice of the Defense Secretary and the Foreign Secretary, last night I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refueling, and that's the agreement that we've given," Burnham said.
An RAF Voyager aircraft will assist the Saudi air force with air-to-air refueling to help Saudi fighter jets intercept and destroy incoming Houthi missiles and drones, according to U.K. officials.
The support is described as strictly "defensive," applying only to Saudi efforts to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones rather than supporting Saudi strikes against the group.
Officials said the mission is expected to begin within days and will be "time limited," likely to a few weeks at most, marking Burnham's first military deployment since taking office.
The refueling mission comes in addition to the U.K.'s Sky Sabre air defense system already deployed in Saudi Arabia.
Burnham tied the decision directly to concerns over living costs in Britain and the need to protect wider U.K. interests.
"I go back to the point I made about cost-of-living pressures and acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region," he said.
"Because, of course, Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open, and hence our agreement to the request," Burnham noted.
U.K. officials have expressed concern that the Houthi attacks are contributing to rising global oil prices, which are pushing up U.K. petrol and diesel costs.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for recent drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting Riyadh as well as energy facilities along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.
Saudi Arabia issued air raid alerts in Riyadh on Saturday for the first time in months, shortly before a Houthi strike hit fuel facilities at the capital's main airport, the first such strike to target the Saudi capital in years and a significant escalation.
This month, the Houthis, who already controlled most of Yemen's populated areas, launched a rapid offensive to seize the country's entire Red Sea coastline, giving them control over the strategically vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key route connecting oil-rich Gulf states to Red Sea ports and global customers, and one Saudi Arabia has used as an alternative export route amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis are fighting Yemen's internationally recognized government in a civil war; Saudi Arabia has led a coalition backing the government since 2015, an intervention that escalated the conflict into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
2 min read
