RIYADH/CAIRO: Saudi-led forces said yesterday that they would respond harshly against Houthi rebels following attacks on citizens in border areas, hours after the kingdom offered a five-day humanitarian truce if the Shia militia stopped fighting.
Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis had changed the situation by targeting cities in recent days, and vowed that the coalition would go after leaders of the rebel group.
“The Houthis are now targeting the borders of the kingdom and the situation is that we will defend our citizens,” Asseri said and added that 15 people were wounded in Houthi shelling on the city of Najran on Thursday.
“Coalition forces will deliver a harsh response starting this moment, so that those who carried out this operation will pay the price,” he said earlier on Saudi state television. Asseri said Saudi-led forces would keep all options open, but declined to say if a ground offensive was being planned.
The remarks came hours after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir announced at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry that the kingdom was ready to offer a five-day humanitarian ceasefire if the Houthis honoured the truce. “The pause will affect all of Yemen for a period of five days,” Al Jubeir said. “The actual date will be announced shortly as well as the requirements. This is all based on the Houthis complying with the ceasefire.”
Kerry welcomed the Saudi truce offer and said neither Riyadh nor Washington was talking about sending ground troops to Yemen.
A Saudi Apache helicopter was damaged in an emergency landing near the border, an official said, denying an earlier report by Al Masirah that the aircraft had been shot down by the Houthis. He said the pilots were safe. Reuters
