RAF support for Saudi Arabia may operate from Cyprus base
Britain will provide Saudi Arabia with a Voyager refuelling aircraft following renewed Houthi attacks, with reports indicating the mission may operate from RAF Akrotiri.
Akrotiri, Cyprus. Britain will provide additional defensive military support to Saudi Arabia following renewed Houthi attacks and escalating regional violence, with reports indicating the operation may be based in Cyprus.
British support
Saudi Arabia requested British assistance after Yemen’s Houthi movement expanded its control over the country’s west coast and launched fresh bombing raids on Saudi oil infrastructure.
The British government said on Tuesday that it would provide “additional defensive military support” to Saudi Arabia. The support will include an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft to assist Saudi defensive activity in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
The government said escalating tensions in the Gulf could have serious consequences in the United Kingdom, including higher consumer goods prices, disruption to energy supplies and additional costs for British businesses.
It described the Houthi movement as a dangerous threat to regional stability in the Middle East and said preventing its success was in Britain’s national economic and security interest.
Cyprus base
The Financial Times reported that the assistance would operate from a UK base in Cyprus, making RAF Akrotiri near Limassol the likely launch point.
The Cyprus Mail contacted the British defence ministry to ask whether Cyprus would be used as the base for the support.
RAF Akrotiri was struck by an Iranian-made drone on March 2. Later that month, President Nikos Christodoulides said before a European Council summit that Cyprus would hold an open and frank discussion with the British government on the future of the bases.
Houthi advances
The British support follows the Houthis’ takeover of almost the entire western coast of Yemen, including the eastern half of the Bab al-Mandab strait.
The strait is a crucial chokepoint between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The Houthi advance transferred control of that section of the route from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
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