British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday the United Kingdom has agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia to repel attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.Burnham told reporters as he flew to the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he had agreed the Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refueling of Saudi planes. The agreement is for a matter of weeks.The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has reignited, with the Houthis aiming missile and drone strikes at Saudi Arabia, including one that targeted Riyadh on Saturday before being intercepted.
The Houthis also declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, attacking Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities inside the kingdom, one of the world’s top oil exporters.The Houthis advanced inside Yemen earlier this month, seizing the crucial port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands, allowing them to better monitor shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb, through which some 12% of world trade normally passes.President Trump weighed striking the Houthis over the weekend after Saudi Arabia requested help, but late Saturday, he decided against ordering U.S.
strikes, CBS News has previously reported.Burnham said he was “acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region, because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attack, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways [for oil] open.”Britain has condemned the Houthi attacks and said the U.K. will “work with partners to support regional stability, protect civilians and support humanitarian access.”
