UK to provide Saudi Arabia aerial refuelling to counter Houthi attacks

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that Britain has agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia to repeal attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Burnham on Monday told reporters as he flew to the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he had agreed the Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refuelling of Saudi planes.

The agreement is for a matter of weeks, but Burnham said it will be kept under review.

The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government has reignited, with Houthis aiming missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including one that targeted Riyadh on Saturday before being intercepted.

The Houthis also declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, attacking Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities inside the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter.

The Houthis advanced inside Yemen earlier this month, seizing the crucial port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands allowing them to be