Taez: Fierce fighting raged yesterday in south Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and loyalists of exiled President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, as pressure mounted for the warring factions to hold political talks.
The Houthi rebels, who have overrun large parts of the country and forced Hadi to flee overseas, have demanded a complete end to a month of Saudi-led air strikes against them as a condition for UN-sponsored talks.
Sources said yesterday that clashes had left at least 90 people dead in towns in the south of the impoverished country.
Former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still holds sway over army units allied with the Shia rebels, late on Friday urged the Houthis to heed UN demands to withdraw from territory they have seized.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also called on the anti-government forces to enter into political dialogue to end a conflict that the UN says has killed more than 1,000 people since late March.
“This has to be a two-way street,” Kerry told reporters, adding: “We need the Houthi and we need those that can influence them to make sure that they are prepared to try to move... to the negotiating table.”
In the key port city of Aden and in the adjacent Lahj province alone, 46 rebels died in ongoing clashes and 12 hours of intense air strikes that lasted until early yesterday, a military source close to them said.
A medic in Aden said eight pro-Hadi militiamen were killed and 32 were wounded.
The military source and pro-Hadi militiamen said that coalition warships were also taking part in the shelling.
The coalition has kept up air strikes days after announcing its campaign was entering a new phase aimed at resuming the political process, delivering aid and fighting “terrorism”.
Warplanes’ targets included the rebel-held presidential palace which was Hadi’s last refuge before he fled to neighbouring Saudi Arabia last month, military officials said.
Air strikes also hit the rebel-held Al Anad air base in Lahj north of Aden, which housed US troops supporting a long-running drone war against Al Qaeda before the fighting forced them to withdraw.
Residents in Lahj said that the rebels had captured “dozens” of civilians they accused of helping the coalition by providing information about rebel targets.
There was also fighting late on Friday in the eastern province of Marib, home to some of Yemen’s most important oilfields, army officers and witnesses said.
Loyalist troops shelled rebel positions in the Sarwah district, where clashes raged around the country’s main oil export pipeline.
The 435-kilometre line links Marib’s Safir oilfields with the Ras Isa terminal on the Red Sea coast, and control of it has been a key goal for the rebels and their allies.
The UN says millions of people have been affected by the conflict and are struggling to access healthcare, water, food and fuel.
It estimates that at least 551 of those killed since late March were civilians and included at least 115 children.
Amnesty International wants an urgent investigation into the civilian deaths.
“Some of the Saudi Arabian-led air strikes appear to have failed to take necessary precautions to minimise harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects,” said its MENA deputy head, Said Boumedouha.AFP
United Nations: The United Nations yesterday confirmed Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, a Mauritanian diplomat, as the new special UN envoy for Yemen.
He replaces Jamal Benomar, who resigned last week following what diplomats said was sharp criticism of his performance by Gulf countries.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday notified the UN Security Council on Thursday of his intention to name Ould Cheikh Ahmed to the post, but was awaiting the reaction of the council and the parties to the conflict in Yemen before confirming the nomination.
A UN statement announcing that the nomination has now been confirmed said Ould Cheikh Ahmed “will work closely with the members of the United Nations Security Council, the Gulf Cooperation Council, governments in the region and other partners, as well as the United Nations country team for Yemen.”
Ould Cheikh Ahmed is taking over the Yemen peace process after serving for four months as the head of the UN Ebola mission in Ghana.
He brings hands-on experience in the poor Arab country, having worked as the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from 2012 to 2014.AFP
