Aden: Saudi-led aircraft pounded Iran-allied Al Houthi militiamen and rebel army units in central Yemen and the capital Sana’a on Monday, residents said, reporting that food and medical supplies were running low.
They said warplanes flew between 15 and 20 sorties against groups of Al Houthi fighters and arms depots in the Al Dhalea provincial capital, Dhalea, and the nearby city of Qa’ataba, between dawn and 0900 local time (0600 GMT), setting off a chain of explosions.
Dhalea residents said sounds of explosions could be heard for two hours after the strikes.
Saudi-led warplanes also struck the area around the presidential compound in Sana’a for a second day, while heavy street fighting was under way in the strategically important city of Taiz in central Yemen, according to residents and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).)
There were no immediate reports on the extent of casualties.
A coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, rattled by what they saw as expanding Iranian influence in the Arabian Peninsula, has carried out nearly five weeks of air strikes on Al Houthi militiamen and loyalists of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who have together seized large parts of Yemen.
Fighting has killed more than 1,000 people, including an estimated 551 civilians since the bombings started on March 26, the United Nations said on Friday. Its children’s agency Unicef said at least 115 children were among the dead.
Saudi Arabia says it was concerned over its own security after Al Houthi forces began advancing across Yemen, on its southern border, in September, when the militia captured the capital.
Al Houthis allege President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi fostered Islamist militants linked to Al Qaida and corrupt officials.
Hadi, who fought Al Qaida when he had control of the country, says the terrorist group is as much a threat to Yemen as it had always been.
The Al Houthi advance eventually forced Hadi into exile into Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh says it wants to restore Hadi and prevent Yemen disintegrating as a state, with Al Qaida terrorists thriving in the chaos and one of the world’s busiest oil shipping lanes off the Yemeni coast at risk.
Saudi Arabia last week announced a formal end to the nearly five-week-old campaign but said it would continue to target any attempt by the Al Houthis to advance further. The bombing eased initially but picked up intensity again on Sunday and Monday.
Bread in short supply
Fighting pitting the Al Houthis against tribesmen and Islamist militants, with army units on both sides, has worsened the humanitarian situation.
Residents of the southern port city of Aden said bread was in short supply and a convoy of trucks carrying flour from the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah was being prevented by the Al Houthis from entering the city.
Al Houthis also blocked a convoy of ICRC trucks carrying medical supplies to Aden, but contacts were under way to allow the supplies in.
“Our convoys were blocked from going to Aden and Marib over the weekend and we are in discussions with the Al Houthis to resolve that,” ICRC spokeswoman Sitara Jabeen said.
On Sunday, air strikes, naval shelling and ground fighting shook Yemen in some of the most widespread combat since the operations began last month. Residents said there were at least five air strikes on military positions and an area near the presidential palace compound in the Al Houthi-held capital Sana’a.
Residents also said Saudi-led war planes pounded areas around the presidential compound in Sana’a for the second day, and launched at least five raids on areas under Al Houthi control in Marib and Al Jouf in northern Yemen.
Heavy clashes also continued in the strategically important central city of Taiz, where armed tribesmen and Islamist fighters have taken back several districts from the Al Houthis in heavy fighting, according to residents there.
Residents said street battles were raging in the city of some three million, with both sides using tanks and artillery in residential areas. “The heaviest street fighting is taking place in Taiz. Air strikes also continued in Aden,” Jabeen said.