UK prime minister Andy Burnham with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud at the UN (Photo: Alamy)
‘Defensive’ refuelling of planes bombing Yemen can still cause war crimes. Just ask Keir Starmer
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Pollard would not provide details on what he described as “a range of defensive missions” that have been agreed with Saudi Arabia and acknowledged “a grey” area of what defensive action included.
Reporting by The Timesclaimed “the remit for Saudi operations goes wider” and includes refuelling of Saudi fighter jets bombing “defensive targets on land and along coastal areas, such as weapons depots and sites used to launch missiles and drones” adding to the opaque nature of Britain’s military support.
British refuelling support to Saudi Arabia, especially if it facilitates Saudi fighter jets carrying out bombing runs into Yemen, risks drawing UK-linked maritime vessels into Houthi targeting criteria.
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Three successive Conservative prime ministers supported Saudi Arabia’s first air war against the Houthis from 2015 to 2022.
The war resulted in more than 19,000 civilian casualties in up to 75,217 individual strikes over the seven years of bombing, according to airstrikes monitor Yemen Data Project (YDP). Saudi Arabia successfully lobbied to remove UN experts from investigating the conflict.
In October 2021, in an unprecedented move by member states, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted down a resolution for a two-year renewal of the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) on Yemen.
The GEE was created in 2017 to investigate and monitor violations of human rights, international humanitarian law (IHL) and war crimes by all belligerents. It was the first time in UNHRC history for a resolution to be voted down. Saudi Arabia reportedly influenced the vote by lobbying member states using “incentives and threats”.
The GEE mandate ended on 31 October 2021, halting the only international mechanism for accountability for IHL violations in the conflict.
In the three months following the UNHRC vote, civilian casualties in Saudi’s air war more than trebled every month, taking the monthly average of civilian casualties in bombings after October 2021 to 141, compared to less than six per month in the 12 months preceding the dissolution of the GEE, according to YDP records.
Adding to Saudi Arabia’s documented track record of civilian harm and accountability prevention is an absence of any record keeping or process for assessing civilian casualties by the British Ministry of Defence.
Yet Pollard asserted in one of his BBC interviews on Tuesday that all British actions would “be compliant with international humanitarian law”.
Supporters of Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, September 18, 2026
ANTI-WAR campaigners have denounced Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s decision to back Saudi Arabia’s assault on Yemen.
Your Party parliamentary leader Jeremy Corbyn said the move formed part of a pattern of intervention in the Middle East under Mr Burnham.
The former Labour leader said: “Helping the US to bomb Iran. Now, helping Saudi Arabia to bomb Yemen. This is a terrible and shameful decision, which drags Britain further into conflict, deepens its complicity in Saudi war crimes and proves that no lessons have been learned whatsoever.”
The Stop the War Coalition also criticised the move, saying that “while the Trump administration has repeatedly said it will not actively militarily aid the Saudis, Burnham promises to help them ahead of his meeting with the president.
“The Prime Minister should be actively opposing Trump’s illegal war on Iran, not taking the UK further into Middle East conflicts.”
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The UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza by establishing a new transitional Board of Peace (BoP) and authorizing an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to oversee governance, reconstruction and security efforts in the Gaza Strip, on November 17, 2025. in New York City, United States. [Selçuk Acar – Anadolu Agency]
The UN Security Council on Friday condemned attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure that injured civilians, among them women and children, Anadolu reports.
Council members noted that their Aug. 7 statement condemned Houthi missile attacks on the kingdom and assaults on commercial vessels. They reiterated their condemnation of attacks and threats against shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, stressing the importance of safeguarding vessels and their crews.
The council demanded that the Houthis “immediately cease their military escalation” and attacks affecting civilians and civilian objects.
Members expressed grave concern about reports of civilians killed and injured and noted that at least 125,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the start of September, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. They warned that further escalation would worsen the country’s dire humanitarian situation.
They called for full, safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access and demanded the unconditional release of detainees, including 73 UN personnel and staff of NGOs, civil society groups and diplomatic missions.
The council further called for practical cooperation with the Yemeni government to prevent the Houthis from acquiring arms, technical assistance, training and financing for military activities. It reminded all member states of their obligations under the targeted arms embargo.
Members expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and affirmed its inherent right to self-defense under international law.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to Yemen’s unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, stressing that sustainable peace “cannot be achieved through violence, coercion, or the use of force.”
Noting their support for UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg in pursuing a negotiated, inclusive, Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political settlement, they also urged the parties to engage constructively with UN efforts.
Saudi Arabia has faced missile and drone attacks attributed to the Houthis in recent days amid escalating regional tensions.
Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has also intensified since early July.
The renewed fighting ended a period of relative calm that had largely held since a UN-brokered truce took effect in April 2022.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference following the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 31, 2026. [Arif Hüdaverdi Yaman – Anadolu Agency]
The Mecca defense agreement has launched a process to establish a “new security and cooperation architecture” in the region, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday, Anadolu reports.
Speaking in Istanbul following the first meeting under the trilateral agreement between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Fidan said: “With this agreement, the process of testing a new security and cooperation architecture in our region has begun.”
Regional countries urgently need to act together for security, stability, prosperity and lasting peace, he added.
Fidan attended the meeting at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace alongside Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu.
Pakistan’s delegation included Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Saudi Arabia was represented by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.
‘Alliance established with aim of expanding’
Fidan said the agreement allows other countries to join the alliance, but discussions would be needed with both prospective members and existing members on the conditions, procedures and standards for accession.
He said work is underway on a roadmap for the accession process.
“The alliance was established with the aim of expanding. But at the outset, its foundations need to be laid very well, and its institutionalization also needs to be carried out very well,” Fidan said, adding that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also share this sensitivity on the issue.
Fidan said the three countries agree on the need to build a strong and institutionalized structure capable of addressing challenges and bringing stability, peace and prosperity to the region, while also expanding the alliance over time.
A potential new ally should join a well-established and effectively functioning structure, he said.
“We are now working together to complete the difficult part, which is the establishment phase,” Fidan added.
Fidan added that greater stability would create an environment conducive to more investment and development.
‘International system must fight against Netanyahu threat’
Asked about Israel viewing Turkiye as a “strategic threat,” Fidan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters have increasingly used rhetoric targeting Turkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials as Israel heads into election period.
“We have been following this from the beginning,” he said.
Fidan described Netanyahu as having become a “common enemy of humanity, the international community and security,” calling him a “criminal” and a “perpetrator of genocide” who should not be taken seriously.
He said Netanyahu, his “mentality” and those acting alongside him pose a threat not only to Turkiye but to global security.
“It would be a major mistake to think of this as only Turkiye’s problem,” Fidan said.
He called on the international community to stop Netanyahu, arguing that his policies are harming the region, Israel, the Jewish people and the wider world.
Fidan said Netanyahu’s remarks indicate that he does not want the establishment of a Palestinian state or an end to ongoing occupations in countries across the region.
“He wants the genocidal and occupying approach, which endangers regional and international security, to continue,” Fidan said.
“This is a major threat not only to us, but to the entire region and the international community. The international system must fight against this threat, this Netanyahu threat,” he added.
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An aerial view of destruction in Sheikh Ridwan neighborhood following the Israeli forces’ withdrawal with the ceasefire agreement in Gaza City, Gaza on October 17, 2025. [Mohammed Abu Samra – Anadolu Agency]
Turkiye and seven other countries on Sunday condemned Israel’s rejection of a roadmap for completing the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict, saying the move jeopardizes efforts to achieve lasting peace, Anadolu reports.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Turkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned Israel’s declared rejection of the roadmap, as well as its rejection of Palestinian statehood.
The ministers said the positions amount to “a direct repudiation” of Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
They said Israel’s rejection jeopardizes the plan’s implementation and “fundamentally undermines the collective efforts undertaken to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
“Such rejection confirms that Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” they added.
The ministers said the roadmap, which has been accepted by Palestinian factions, was the result of extensive efforts by mediators, including Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the US, alongside the High Representative of Gaza and the Board of Peace.
They described it as a key step toward the decommissioning of weapons alongside the withdrawal of Israeli forces, deployment of the International Stabilization Force, transfer of administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and reconstruction of the enclave.
The ministers warned that rejecting the roadmap amounts to an explicit refusal to proceed with the implementation of Trump’s plan and threatens to derail US efforts to end the war and establish conditions for lasting peace.
They stressed the importance of “sustained and active US engagement” to ensure Israel’s full compliance with the commitments and arrangements set out under the plan and roadmap and to prevent further obstruction.
The statement said Israel bears “direct and full responsibility” for consequences resulting from continued rejection, obstruction, delay or non-compliance, including any deterioration on the ground or disruption of efforts to end the war in Gaza.
The ministers also called for the full and immediate implementation of the plan to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, ensure security and stability, and pave the way for reconstruction and recovery.
They reaffirmed their support for Palestinian self-determination and statehood, categorically rejecting any attempt to deny or prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, including through unilateral actions.
“A just, lasting and comprehensive peace only will be achieved by the implementation of two-State solution, by the realization of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement said.
The ministers also underscored the importance of the continued role of the Board of Peace and called on all parties to support its efforts to implement the roadmap and advance the second phase of Trump’s plan.
They urged the board, with active US support and engagement, to take “immediate and concrete measures” within its mandate to preserve the integrity of the plan and prevent any party from obstructing its implementation.
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Supporters of Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Sanaa, Yemen, September 18, 2026
