First commercial flight from rebel-held Yemen since 2016 postponed

SANAA: The first commercial flight out of Yemen’s rebel-held capital in six years was indefinitely postponed Sunday, after failing to obtain permits from the Saudi-led coalition, the national carrier said.

Yemen’s government blamed the Iran-backed Huthi rebels for the postponement, claiming they had tried to “smuggle” members of Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah onto the flight.

Authorities in Sanaa, though, accused the coalition of trying to keep Yemeni civilians “in a large prison”, and said the denial of permits was a “violation” of a fragile truce. The capital’s airport was due to receive the commercial aircraft Sunday morning, reviving hopes that the war-torn country could resume some normal operations.