Riyadh forcing a Yemeni plane back 'irresponsible escalation': Sanaa
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Sanaa says Saudi Arabia's "unjustified escalation" serves the Israeli occupation and seeks to "fuel regional tensions" and divert attention from the Israeli crimes in Gaza.
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An airplane belonging to the Yemenia Airways in the Sanaa International Airport in Yemen, 2024 (AFP)
The Foreign Ministry in the Sanaa government condemned Riyadh's decision to turn back a Yemen Airways plane from Saudi airspace on Thursday, calling it "an unfriendly act" that breaches the agreement previously signed between the two parties under UN sponsorship.
The ministry noted that "the Saudi authorities' refusal to allow the Yemeni plane en route to Amman to pass through their airspace, forcing it to return, is an irresponsible and unjustified escalation that serves the Zionist enemy, which seeks to fuel conflict in the region to divert attention from the brutal crimes it commits against the Palestinian people."
It concluded by stating, "We await clarification and an apology from the authority responsible for turning back the Yemen Airways plane."
Read more: Sayyed al-Houthi: US ordered Saudi economic pressure on Yemen
On July 23rd, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg announced that an agreement had been reached between Sanaa and the Saudi-appointed Presidential Council to de-escalate tensions related to the banking sector and Yemen Airways.
Grundberg confirmed then that the agreement includes canceling recent decisions and measures against banks by both sides and refraining from any similar actions in the future.
Saudi hostility under US directives
In May, the Central Bank in Aden, controlled by the Saudi-appointed Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, issued a directive to halt dealings with six commercial banks based in Sanaa for failing to abide by an order to relocate to Aden.
Saudi Arabia has also been blocking flights from Sanaaa Airport to Jordan, India, and Egypt, despite previously lifting the ban as part of a mutual agreement between the two.
In response to Aden's decision targeting banks based in Sanaa, the Sanaa government promptly enacted reciprocal measures.
The Central Bank of Yemen in the capital Sanaa issued a decision prohibiting dealings with 13 banks and entities, most of which are headquartered in Aden, for having "leaked, disclosed, and handed over financial data to hostile countries and entities and collaborated with them to harm the Republic of Yemen and its citizens."
Read more: Sanaa: 1,124 Yemeni pilgrims detained, flight redirected to Aden
Meanwhile, less than one week before the UN-sponsored agreement was reached, Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi issued a warning to Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that any actions would be met with equivalent countermeasures. He stated, "Banks will be met with banks, Riyadh airport with Sana'a airport, and ports with ports."
"We will not stand idly by in the face of their absurd moves and watch our people starve and their economic situation collapse," Sayyed al-Houthi affirmed, stressing that being preoccupied with the direct battle to support Gaza does not mean inaction regarding the issue.
After reaching the agreement, the deputy head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation told Al Mayadeen shortly after the agreement was reached that the announcement is "just media talk so far," as the Sanaa International Airport remains closed, the blockade on Yemen persists, and the measures against Yemeni banks are still in place.
