Yemen's government has written to the UN Security Council over the Houthi attack on Aden airport, urging it to condemn the strike in the strongest terms and tighten the arms embargo on the militia. The letter, reported on Saturday, Oct. 10, by Yemen's UN ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi, says the airport was hit at dawn on Oct. 7 with two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones as a civilian flight came in to land.
Quick Answer: Yemen's government has asked the UN Security Council to condemn what it calls a Houthi terrorist attack on Aden International Airport on Oct. 7 and to enforce the arms embargo. In a letter reported Oct. 10, it warned the dawn strike on a civilian airport marks a dangerous escalation.
The appeal went out through the foreign ministry's New York mission on Saturday, and was also carried by CGTN. Dawn confirms the same core details.
The Houthi attack on Aden airport, as described in the letter
Yemen's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Saadi, addressed the letter to the Security Council's October president — Greece's Ambassador Aglaia Balta — and to Secretary-General António Guterres. He briefed the Council on the strike's details and, in the ministry's telling, on the grave danger it poses to civil aviation.
What does the government want? The Council should "condemn in the strongest terms" the attack, hold the perpetrators accountable, and ensure the "full and effective implementation" of the arms embargo. It also asks states to cut off weapons, materiel, components, technology and expertise to the Houthis under Council resolutions — chief among them resolution 2216 (2015). It says it is ready to work with the UN, the Council, ICAO and the Panel of Experts on Yemen.
Why Yemen's government calls it a dangerous shift
The letter leans on a warning Yemen sent the Council on Sept. 29 about threats to civil aviation in southern Red Sea airspace, which it links to what it describes as Iranian-origin weapons in Houthi hands. The Oct. 7 strike, it argues, moved that danger from a potential risk to air routes into a direct attack on a civilian facility. It also recalls the December 2020 Aden airport attack, past attacks on Saudi airports, and detained Yemenia aircraft. Days before the letter, Houthi attacks on Saudi airports killed three people, according to Saudi aviation authorities.
The Houthis tell the story differently. Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed the group had targeted "Saudi military supplies" at Badr camp near the airport. That is his claim — not an established fact. The account in Yemen's letter is the government's own; no independent verification of the strike's details has been reported.
Why it matters
Aden International Airport serves Yemenis from every governorate, the government says — which is why a strike on it reads as a strike on civilians. The letter lands as the government presses a counteroffensive against the militia, and as Pakistan denies reports its air force struck Houthi targets. A landing passenger flight, aircraft on the tarmac and airport staff were all in danger at once — in one of the world's most sensitive aviation and shipping lanes.
What happens next
For now, the ball is in the Council's court. The letter sits with the October presidency, held by Greece's Aglaia Balta, and with the Secretary-General's office. No Council response had been reported as of Saturday. What the government wants is clear: tighter policing of the weapons pipeline and a Council that treats the Aden strike as the moment the threat to aviation turned from warning to fact.
Key takeaways
- Yemen's UN envoy, Abdullah Al-Saadi, wrote to the Council's October president, Aglaia Balta, and Secretary-General António Guterres about the Oct. 7 dawn attack on Aden airport; the letter was reported on Oct. 10.
- The government's account: two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones hit the airport while a civilian flight was approaching to land and aircraft, passengers and staff were on the ground.
- The government calls the strike a serious escalation and a flagrant violation of the rules protecting civil aviation — a shift, it says, from a potential risk to air routes into a direct attack on a civilian facility.
- Yemen wants the Council to condemn the attack in the strongest terms, hold perpetrators accountable, and fully enforce the arms embargo under resolution 2216 (2015).
- Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the target was "Saudi military supplies" at Badr camp near the airport — stated here only as his claim. No independent verification of the strike's details has been reported.
Frequently asked questions
When did the attack on Aden airport happen?
According to Yemen's letter, the attack happened at dawn on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The government says the airport was struck with two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones. The letter — reported on Oct. 10 — frames it as a fresh escalation, not an old grievance.
What is Yemen asking the Security Council to do?
Three things, chiefly: condemn the attack in the strongest terms, hold its perpetrators accountable, and enforce the arms embargo on the Houthis fully and effectively. The letter also calls for cutting off weapons, components, technology and expertise to the militia under Council resolutions, led by resolution 2216 (2015).
Why does Yemen say this attack is different from earlier Houthi strikes?
Yemen says its Sept. 29 letter already warned of a growing threat to civil aviation in southern Red Sea airspace. The Oct. 7 strike, it argues, turned a potential risk to air routes into a direct attack on a civilian airport — proof that Houthi threats to air and sea navigation are connected.
What did the Houthis say about the strike?
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group had targeted "Saudi military supplies" at Badr camp near the airport with ballistic missiles. That is strictly his claim, not a verified fact, and this article presents it only as such. The government's attribution is likewise the government's own account.
Was anyone hurt in the Aden airport attack?
The government's letter does not report casualty figures, and no independently verified casualty count has been reported. It stresses that lives were put in direct danger — a civilian flight was approaching while people and aircraft were at the crowded airport.
Sources
- Yemen Ministry of Foreign Affairs — official dispatch from New York on the letter to the UN. mofa-ye.org
- Dawn — "Yemen warns UN that Aden airport attack marks dangerous Houthi shift to civilian targets" (Oct. 10, 2026). dawn.com
- CGTN — Yemen MFA announcement, carried Oct. 10, 2026. news.cgtn.com