Daniel Ngendahimana
At least 12 people have been killed and 309 injured in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, according to local authorities reported by the BBC.
The victims included four Saudi citizens, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
Airport operations were stopped after the attack. The attack hit a passenger terminal and injured passengers and airport workers. Some of the injured people were in critical condition.
Saudi Arabia and its military allies blamed Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the attack. The group is supported by Iran. A Saudi-led military group called the attack a “full-fledged war crime”.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by the attacks. He called them a “violation of international law” and said they “must cease immediately”.
US President Donald Trump said his country was considering what to do next. He told reporters: “We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
The attack happened as fighting between Yemen’s government forces and the Houthis continued to grow. Saudi Arabia supports the government forces, while the Houthis control large parts of Yemen.
Three other people had been killed in separate Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on 6 and 7 October.
After the latest attack, schools in Riyadh moved to online learning for the week. Foreign embassies warned their citizens to stay away from the airport. Several Gulf airlines also cancelled flights to and from Riyadh.
Sugira Nsabimana Aime Christian
