Houthis Strike Riyadh Airport Twice Within 48 Hours; Global South Migrant Workers Bear the Brunt

Riyadh — In a joint report by AFP and France 24, the Houthis launched a fresh attack on Saudi Arabia's Riyadh International Airport on Sunday, killing one Pakistani resident and wounding 11 others. This was the second strike within 48 hours, and further extended the cycle of violence from the Yemen war, now in its tenth year, deep into Saudi territory.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Aviation Authority said radar and communications equipment at the airport was damaged in the attack, and the airport closure has been extended to 21:00 GMT on Monday. France 24 reported that Dammam Airport in eastern Saudi Arabia was also struck the same day; the Houthis claimed responsibility and threatened to continue targeting Saudi transport hubs, describing these sites in a statement as "the operational stage of our forces."

Within just a few days, the Houthis have struck Riyadh Airport three times, with Thursday's attack alone killing three people. The previous day's attack on Saturday was the deadliest inside Saudi Arabia in over a decade, widely regarded as the worst attack on Saudi soil since a 2015 suicide bombing. The 12 fatalities announced by the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, and one citizen each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, with another 309 injured. France 24 reported that India's embassy in Saudi Arabia confirmed on Sunday that another Indian citizen had died from severe injuries sustained in Saturday's attack. Besides the four Saudi citizens, the eight known fatalities came from Bangladesh (two), the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, the vast majority of them migrant workers from Global South countries employed in Saudi Arabia.

Citing a 32-year-old Riyadh resident, France 24 reported that at the time of the incident "people lost hands or arms, people covered in blood were running while carrying the wounded"; Saudi medical systems, unusually, mobilized doctors on a large scale for the response.

The backdrop to this escalation is the Saudi-led international coalition's military support for the Yemeni government since 2015, with the coalition also imposing controls on Yemeni airspace and on Sanaa airport held by the Houthis. Citing Thomas Juneau, a security analyst at the University of Ottawa, France 24 reported: "Saudi air defenses can intercept some Houthi missile and drone attacks, but Saudi Arabia's territory is too large to be fully defended at all times." He said the Houthis' current strategy is to "do back to Saudi Arabia what Saudi Arabia has done to them."

Western embassies' responses to the attack showed stark divergence. According to France 24, the U.S., Canadian, German and Spanish embassies in Saudi Arabia have warned their citizens to stay away from Riyadh airport, while Australia further instructed its citizens to "shelter in place." Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump publicly stated he is considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis; Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also condemned the attack. The Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition branded Saturday's attack an "outright war crime" and vowed a "decisive response."

On the Yemen battlefield itself, Houthi media said on Sunday that the Saudi-led coalition launched two rounds of airstrikes on Sanaa governorate; Saudi-backed government forces, meanwhile, are pressing a counteroffensive against the Houthis around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key global shipping lane. France 24 noted that both sides' accounts cannot be independently verified and that journalists' access to the war zone is restricted.

The airport attack came on the eve of the opening of Saudi Arabia's exhibition and entertainment season, coinciding with the start of the peak season during which millions of Muslims travel to Mecca for Umrah pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia's Civil Aviation Authority said property damage from Sunday's attack is still being assessed.