Houthis claimed that they have downed a Tornado warplane - a particular type of jet that comprises the air fleet of the Saudi-led coalition - with a cutting-edge surface-to-air missile. There has been no statement issued by Riyadh or the Saudi-led coalition regarding the alleged incident.
“By the grace of God and his kindness, the Yemeni air defenses were able to shoot down a Tornado warplane over the sky of the Al-Jawf Governorate as they were carrying out hostile missions. It was shot down by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile”, Saria said on Twitter.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels since 2015. The country’s north, including the capital of Sanaa, is controlled by the Houthi movement.
In the most recent wave of escalation in late January, 80 people were killed and dozens more injured in a missile attack on a Yemeni military camp in the country’s northeast. UN Special Envoy on Yemen Martin Griffiths then arrived in Sanaa to hold talks with the Houthis on reducing the military escalation between the warring parties.
According to the United Nations, some 22 million people in Yemen – or 75 percent of the country’s population – are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Earlier this week, the United Nations said it could reduce the humanitarian assistance to the northern Yemeni areas over the new restrictions imposed in the Houthi-controlled areas. Similar statements have been made by the United Kingdom and the United States.