Foreign forces close buildings overlooking Mahra Airport

MAHRA, June 22 (YPA) – Foreign forces have closed buildings overlooking Al-Ghaydah Airport in Mahra province, eastern Yemen, after it was converted into a military base in late 2017.

A local source reported that Saudi forces closed the fourth and fifth floors of the “Pearl Hotel” under the pretext of security measures, given its view of Al-Ghaydah Airport, which has been converted into a joint military base housing American, British, and Israeli forces.

The source added that the civil airport, which overlooks the Arabian Sea, has witnessed mysterious military activity in recent days, with increased military patrols in its vicinity.

It’s worth noting that Saudi Arabia closed Al-Ghaydah Civil Airport in 2017 and converted it into a military base under the pretext of conducting maintenance and renovation operations. It was noted that only one official flight was conducted in February 2022.

Sheikh Ali Salem Al-Harizi, head of the sit-in committee against foreign presence in Mahra, confirmed that British forces brought Israeli intelligence officers to Al-Ghaydah Airport after an Israeli-operated ship was targeted off the coast of Oman in late July 2021, killing a British and Romanian national.

The committee’s spokesman considered the visits of the US ambassador to the government loyal to the Saudi-led coalition, Stephen Griffin, and the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, General Cooper, to Al-Ghaydah Airport in March 2023 a violation of Yemeni sovereignty.

YPA