The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
asked the UN on Thursday to take control of the airport in the capital Sanaa, which is in the territory controlled by the rival Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews...
fighters, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
The coalition said it was ready to allow the reopening of the airport on the condition that the UN provided support for airport security.
It said the airport remained closed "due to concerns for the safety of civilian travel and commercial flights, as well as the smuggling of weapons by the Houthis".
On Friday, UN front man Stephane Dujarric called on the rival sides to allow humanitarian aid
access, including through Sanaa airport which has been closed to all but limited UN flights for a year."[The airport] is not under UN control," Dujarric said on Friday.
"The parties to the conflict have the responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians and their access to humanitarian relief, including through the use of airspace and airport."