The deadly attack on December 30, 2020 on Aden International Airport in Yemen was carried out with missiles similar to those possessed by the Houthi rebels and which were fired from locations under their control, claims a confidential report by the Houthi rebels. United Nations (UN) experts, responsible for the sanctions imposed on Yemen, recently submitted to the Security Council and a summary of which was obtained, Tuesday, March 30, by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Very quickly after the attack, Maïn Saïd, at the head of the new Yemeni unity government, asserted that “The initial findings of the investigation showed that the Houthi terrorist militia was behind this criminal act”. The conflict in Yemen pits the government against the Houthi rebels, who swept away much of the north of the country, including the historic capital Sanaa in 2014.
“The attack killed 20 civilians, including Deputy Minister of Public Works and Urban Development Yasmin Al-Awadhi, and injured more than 100 people, including departing travelers, airport staff and journalists”, specifies the document of the UN experts. At the time, the first advance toll was at least twenty-six dead and over fifty injured.
Missiles fired from Houthi-controlled locations
During his investigation, “The group of experts found that the airport was hit by three precision-guided short-range ballistic surface-to-surface missiles carrying fragmentation warheads”. It was “Probably an extended-range version of the Badr-1P missile, which has been part of the Houthi arsenal since 2018”, add text.
“In view of the places of impact, it is clear that the intention was to hit the plane carrying government officials, such as the reception room for personalities where a press conference was scheduled at the time of the attack”, report the experts.
“Only a last minute decision to park the plane further away from the terminal and an unplanned delay in disembarking passengers made it possible to avoid additional victims among government officials”, according to the summary of the report.
After investigating the possible launching locations of the missiles, and studying images on social networks, testimonies, angles of impact and satellite data, the experts who are continuing their investigations have “Concluded that at least two missiles [dont un s’est écrasé peu après son décollage] had been launched from Taëz airport and that the two remaining missiles had probably been launched from a police training center in the south of the city of Dhamar ”. “These two places were under the control of Houthi forces at the time of the attack”, underline the UN experts.
