Geneva – SAM for Rights and Liberties said it is following with grave concern the attack carried out by the Houthi group in the early hours of Wednesday, October 7, 2026, against Aden International Airport using two ballistic missiles and a number of drones, at a time when the airport was handling civilian air traffic and passengers, airport staff, and flight crews were present. SAM warned of the serious implications of targeting a vital civil aviation facility and directly endangering civilian lives.
According to Yemen’s Ministry of Transport, the attack targeted the airport runway and passenger terminal, with one of the two missiles landing near the runway just minutes before the scheduled landing of a Yemenia Airways flight arriving from Cairo with civilian passengers on board. The attack forced the flight to be diverted, the airport terminal to be evacuated, and aircraft on the ground to be moved away from the area. According to preliminary information, no casualties were reported.
SAM stresses that civilian airports, runways, passenger terminals, and civilian aircraft are, as a general rule, civilian objects protected under international humanitarian law and must not be made the object of attack unless, under strict conditions, they become military objectives by making an effective contribution to military action and their destruction or neutralization, in the circumstances prevailing at the time, offers a definite military advantage.
Even where a legitimate military objective is located within or near a civilian airport, this does not automatically deprive civilians or civilian infrastructure of their protection. The attacking force remains obligated to distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects, respect the principle of proportionality, and take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects.
SAM said that the fact that a missile landed near the runway only minutes before a civilian aircraft was due to land demonstrates the extreme level of risk to which passengers, flight crews, and airport personnel were exposed. The organization stressed that the absence of casualties does not diminish the seriousness of the attack or negate the legal obligations incumbent upon those who carried it out.
The organization further warned that the consequences of the attack extend beyond the immediate threat to human life. Targeting, disabling, or closing the airport could result in the suspension or reduction of civilian flights, disrupt travel for patients, students, and families, and make travel to and from Yemen even more difficult, in addition to causing far-reaching humanitarian and economic consequences for a population in a country already suffering from severely limited travel routes and access points.
Tawfiq Al-Humaidi, President of SAM for Rights and Liberties, said: “Civilian airports are not open battlefields, and the protection of civilians does not begin only after casualties occur. Rather, it requires parties to the conflict not to expose civilian lives in the first place to unlawful or disproportionate risks. Targeting an airport while passengers were present and a civilian aircraft was approaching for landing could have resulted in a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe.”
SAM called on the Houthi group to immediately cease any attacks targeting civilian objects or endangering civilians and civil aviation. It also called for an independent and transparent investigation into the incident, including determining the nature of the targets, the means used in the attack, assessing compliance with the rules of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, and ensuring accountability for any violations of international humanitarian law.