Human rights body condemns Saudi use of Al-Riyan Airport in violation of Yemeni sovereignty

SANAA, Oct. 21 (YPA) – The National Human Rights Commission in Sanaa has condemned the Saudi regime’s use of Al-Riyan International Airport in Hadramout Governorate as a logistical base for transferring weapons and military equipment, viewing it as a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and a breach of international laws and conventions.

According to a statement, the airport—originally dedicated to serving passengers, patients, and students—has been converted into a corridor for transporting missiles, shells, drones, and heavy weaponry used to target civilians and various Yemeni governorates, including Sanaa, Saada, Hodeida, Taiz, Marib, Jawf, and Amran, as well as shelling residential villages.

The commission emphasized that using a civil airport for military purposes by a foreign state constitutes a violation of the UN Charter and classifies the conversion of civilian objects into military targets as a war crime, holding the involved parties criminally responsible. It noted that closing the airport and converting it into a military facility inflicts collective punishment by depriving thousands of basic rights and systematically destroying infrastructure.

The commission urged international organizations, notably the ICRC and ICAO, to condemn the conversion, warning of risks to international civil aviation. It reserved the right to include this case in its comprehensive legal reports for presentation to international courts while calling for an immediate halt to these activities.

YPA