The UK expands military support for Saudi Arabia against Houthis to include 'defensive' air patrols

LONDON (AP) — Britain announced Tuesday that it is expanding military support for Saudi Arabia against the Houthis to include “defensive” air patrols by Royal Air Force jets, but stressed there is no military solution to the conflict.

Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will “conduct defensive counter-air operations over Saudi Arabia, helping to protect Saudi cities, civilian populations and critical national infrastructure" from missiles and drones fired by the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

He said the British planes won’t strike Houthi targets.

The U.K. will also send a military transport plane and an unspecified number of military advisers to Saudi Arabia, Streeting said.

The announcement follows Britain’s decision last month to offer in-air refueling of Saudi planes operating against the Houthis. That mission is being extended by another 90 days, Streeting said.

The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has reignited, with the Houthis aiming missile and drone strikes at Saudi Arabia, against which the oil-rich kingdom has struggled to defend itself. The country's main international airport in Riyadh was struck several times earlier this month.

Streeting called the attacks “despicable” and said targeting the airport showed “the lengths the Houthis are going to to escalate the situation in the region."

The Associated Press reported last month that Saudi Arabia had asked its allies, including France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air-defense support to the region to help defend against missiles and drones fired by Houthis and other Iran-backed groups.

The U.S., which bombed the Houthis under the Biden and Trump administrations, has declined to do the same this time around.

Streeting said in a written statement to Parliament that "the government remains clear that there is no long-term military solution to the conflict in Yemen.

“We continue to support a U.N.-led political process as the best route to a durable peace,” he said.

Yemen first plunged into civil war in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in an attempt to restore the government to power. The conflict created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, and killed more than 150,000 people.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s spokesman denied Britain was being dragged in to the conflict.

“Our support for Saudi Arabia is considered, proportionate and focused on helping them defend themselves from relentless Houthi attacks,” spokesperson Tom Wells said.