Director General of Sana’a International Airport, Khaled al-Shayef has on Saturday confirmed that Sana’a Airport is “a civilian airport, and there are no military manifestations in it,” adding that the United Nations is the best witness in this regard.
In a press conference at Sana’a International Airport, al-Shayef explained “all airport facilities were opened today to the media and journalists to convey the truth in its entirety to the international public opinion, in order to clarify the extent of falsehood, lies and slanderous claims made by the aggression against Sana’a International Airport.”
He pointed out that Sana’a International Airport is a civilian airport and its yards, facilities and halls are completely free of any military uses.
Al-Shayef pointed out that Sana’a Airport has been closed since August 9 to all flights with the exception of international flights and those of humanitarian organisations that operate in Yemen.
He said that the United Nations staff arrive and leave the airport on a daily basis, and reiterated that if they had found any military manifestations, they would have immediately reported it.
The director of Sana’a Airport also confirmed that the aggression seeks to spread lies, rumors and slander aiming at continuing to close the airport and paralysing its navigational movement due to its importance in the lives of the Yemeni people.
He pointed out the late former Minister of Transport Zakaria al-Shami asked the resident representative of the United Nations and the former coordinator of humanitarian affairs, to go to Aden by land to find out the extent of the danger that Yemeni patients are suffering in traveling from Sana’a to the operational airport in Aden, but that the UN representative refused.
Al-Shayef reiterated that the United Nations is “not aware of any interest in Sana’a International Airport, not even in denouncing what the airport is being subjected to.”
He held the aggression countries fully responsible for any attack on the airport, as it is a civilian airport protected under international law.
He said: “The aggression threats to target Sana’a International Airport is a challenge to the international community, foremost of which is the United Nations, the only beneficiary of Sana’a Airport, and targeting it is targeting the United Nations.”
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Yemeni News Agency Saba, Editor-in-chief Nasral-Din Amer confirmed that Sana’a International Airport is a civilian airport, used by the United Nations and international humanitarian organisations operating in Yemen.
Amer said, “The aggression had previously claimed that the port of Hodeidah is being used for military purposes, and the footage turned out to be an American movie taking place in Iraq, in addition to its false claim that the al-Thawra Stadium is used for military purposes. Journalists and media were sent down to refute these lies, and today it claims slanderously and falsely that Sana’a International Airport is has military manifestations.”
“We are now at Sana’a International Airport, and we invited all media outlets to the airport after the aggression announced that it was giving a three-hour deadline to evacuate the airport and claiming that there were weapons there.”
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saba News Agency indicated that the media professionals are free to film at Sana’a International Airport, and that it is open to roam around in order to convey the truth and expose what the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression claims.
