UK agrees air refuelling support for Saudi jets in fight against Houthis

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has agreed to give military support to Saudi Arabia to help it tackle attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi. 

British planes will provide "defensive" air-to-air refuelling for Saudi jets, he told reporters as he travelled to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The UK mission will be limited to supporting Saudi aircraft defending the country from attack from drones and missiles rather than supporting strikes against the Houthis, the PA news agency reported.

The use of the Voyager tanker is expected to start within days and the mission will be time-limited, with officials indicating it could last for "weeks".

The refuelling mission is in addition to the UK Sky Sabre air defence system already deployed in Saudi Arabia.

Burnham told reporters he was "acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region 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", according to the reports.

A Houthi attack on Riyadh on Saturday was the first to target the Saudi capital in years and a major escalation.

This month, the Houthis, who already held most of Yemen's populated areas, launched a lightning offensive to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

Saudi Arabia has, since 2015, led a coalition backing the internationally recognised government. Its intervention escalated the war, which has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises in the impoverished country.

France ready to help 'secure' Saudi energy infrastructure

France is ready to work on “securing” Saudi energy infrastructure targeted by Houthis, adopting a “strictly defensive approach,” a diplomatic source has said.

“France is ready to contribute to securing Saudi energy infrastructure in Yanbu and along the East-West Pipeline, within the framework of a strictly defensive approach,” the source said, emphasising that “this in no way involves taking part in the conflict with the Houthis.”

The Houthis have carried out attacks against facilities belonging to the Saudi oil giant Aramco in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. The East-West Pipeline — a crucial crude oil export route — has also been shut down following drone attacks launched from Iraq, according to Riyadh.

Houthis say Saudi-led coalition strike kills 6

Strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha killed at least six people and wounded eight others, reported Houthi-affiliated news agency Saba.
“Six civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed and eight others, including a child and a woman, were injured in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Mokha,” Saba said.

The head of Yemen’s governing body Rashad al-Alimi held a call with US President Donald Trump to request American support against fighters, a source in Alimi’s office told AFP.
Trump did not promise military support, the source said, adding that the call took place on Sunday and was intended as a show of solidarity with Yemen’s embattled government.