Sana’a: Saudi-led warplanes launched more deadly strikes in Yemen yesterday despite a demand by Iran-backed rebels for a complete halt to the raids as a condition for UN-sponsored peace talks.
The Saudi-led coalition has declared an end to the first phase of its operations against the Houthi Shia rebels and their allies, but vowed to keep hitting them with targeted bombing when necessary.
Two days on, a new wave of strikes killed at least 23 rebels as the World Health Organisation said the overall death toll from fighting in Yemen since late March topped 1,000.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced plans to appoint Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as his new envoy to the country. He replaces Morocco’s Jamal Benomar, who resigned last week after losing support for his mediation efforts from Gulf countries.
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched the air war on March 26 in an attempt to restore the authority of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who was forced to flee abroad last month as the rebels swept across the country.
After the end of Operation Decisive Storm, the coalition said the campaign would enter a phase dubbed Renewal of Hope focusing on political efforts, aid deliveries and “fighting terrorism”.
But the Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel Al Jubeir, has since warned that “the Houthis should be under no illusion that we will use force in order to stop them taking over Yemen by aggressive actions”.
His remarks came as US President Barack Obama called on Iran to help find a political solution in Yemen, accusing the Islamic republic of contributing to the conflict. And in Bahrain, Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin accused Iran trying to run the coalition naval blockade on his country.
The Saudi-led alliance says it has destroyed the Houthis’ missile and air capabilities, but the rebels still control Sana’a and swathes of the country while Hadi remains in self-exile in Riyadh. The rebels have called for a complete halt to the raids so warring parties can return to the negotiating table.
“We demand, after a complete end to the aggression against Yemen and the lifting of the blockade, to resume political dialogue... under the sponsorship of the United Nations,” said spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam.
A pro-Hadi military official said heavy air raids later struck rebel gatherings in the second city of Aden, where deadly clashes raged. Three raids also hit rebels in the eastern province of Marib, and others targeted a rebel-held air base in the western city of Hodeida.
Strikes also targeted Yarim in Ibb province, where warplanes hit an old university building used as a rebel headquarters, residents said. In Lahj and Daleh, raids flattened five rebel positions in schools and public buildings, pro-Hadi fighters said. AFP
