Sunday Times 2
Saudi pounds Yemen rebel camps, Arab allies gather
View(s):SANAA, March 28 (AFP) -Heavy bombing shook Yemen’s capital for a third night, residents said tosay, as Saudi-led warplanes struck Iranian-backed rebels to try to prevent the fall of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
A Yemeni protester carries a placard during a demonstration in the strategic city of Taez on March 27, 2015, in support of the Saudi-led 'Firmness Storm' operations against Shiite rebels. Arabic writing reads: “To the leaders of the countries taking part in operation Storm Firmness, Thank you” (AFP)
“It was an intense night of bombing and the windows shook,” said a foreigner working for an international aid organisation in Sanaa.
“People want to leave but there are no flights out of Yemen,” she said.
According to an AFP photographer, it was the most violent night of raids heard in the capital since the operation began late Wednesday.
He said the bombing was felt throughout the night until dawn.
The airstrikes apparently mainly targeted arms depots and other military facilities outside Sanaa, witnesses said.
Saudi Arabia says more than 10 countries have joined the Arab coalition defending Hadi, who arrived in Egypt on Friday to meet Arab allies at a regional summit.
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to prevent Hadi’s overthrow, accusing Shiite Iran of “aggression” and backing the Huthi rebels’ power grab.
Amid the air raids and scattered fighting, a call for a ceasefire was issued by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, suspected of being allied with the rebels.
At least 39 civilians have been killed in Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm against the Huthis and their allies, officials at the rebel-controlled health ministry in Sanaa said.
Twelve died when residential areas were hit in a raid on a military base north of the capital, the officials told AFP.
Strikes hit the rebel-held presidential compound in south Sanaa, as well as various military sites outside the capital including rocket launchers at the airport, witnesses said.
Warplanes also bombed a Huthi-controlled army brigade in Amran province north of Sanaa, and arms depots in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada, residents said.
And an army unit loyal to Saleh, along with Shiite militiamen, captured two villages in Abyan province, near the main southern city of Aden, where Hadi took refuge after fleeing Sanaa last month, military sources said.
The rebels have also clashed with Sunni tribes as they push south.
At least 21 were killed Friday when tribesmen ambushed their vehicles north of Aden, a local official said.
Arab League summit
Hadi, backed by the West and Gulf Arab states, flew to Egypt for a weekend Arab League summit set to be dominated by Yemen.
He travelled from Riyadh after making his way from Aden as the rebels advanced on the city.
Saudi Arabia says more than 10 countries have joined the anti-Huthi coalition.
Reports said Saudi Arabia has deployed 100 warplanes, with another 67 coming from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly also mobilised 150,000 troops near the border.
The coalition said all members had contributed to the operation, with UAE warplanes “intensively” participating in the strikes.
The coalition now completely dominates Yemen’s airspace, and aircraft seized by the Huthis have been destroyed, spokesman General Ahmed Assiri said in Riyadh.
Iran has reacted furiously to the air strikes, calling them a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty.
“Any military action against an independent country is wrong and will only result in a deepening crisis and more deaths among innocents,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.