Sana’a: Saudi Arabia intensified its air strikes against the Al Houthi stronghold of Sa’ada Yemen, with warplanes carrying out more than 50 strikes overnight and early on Friday, Saudi and Yemeni officials said.
The air strikes throw into question a five-day conditional ceasefire announced on Thursday by US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Saudi foreign minister, Adel Al Jubeir, so that humanitarian aid can reach millions of civilians caught up in the conflict that has killed more than 1,400 people since the Saudi-led campaign started March 26.
The Saudi-led military coalition said the latest air strikes in the northern province of Sa’ada were in response to cross border attacks by the rebels targeting Saudi Arabian cities near the frontier.
Saudi air strikes have been pummeling Sa’ada for more than a month since the start of a campaign against the militiamen, who are allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
On Friday, Saudi Press Agency reported that warplanes destroyed a land-mine factory, a telecommunications complex and command centers in Sa’ada. Yemeni officials said that in addition to the more than 50 air strikes, helicopters dropped leaflets calling on residents to stay away from Al Houthi positions and houses. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Al Houthis and Saleh’s forces overran the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, last September and are currently engaged in an offensive in southern Yemen and Aden - the south’s main city. The offensive forced internationally-recognized President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country in late March and seek exile in Saudi Arabia.
With air strikes destroying large stockpiles of Al Houthi weaponry, the militiamen responded by carrying out cross-border attacks targeting Saudi cities near the Yemeni frontier. On Tuesday, Al Houthis fired rockets and mortars into the kingdom, killing at least three people.
The coalition spokesman, Saudi Brig. Gen. Ahmad Asiri, vowed a “harsh response” to the attacks and said Al Houthis “made a mistake by targeting Saudi cities.”
The intensified air strikes cast a shadow over a ceasefire announced in Riyadh by Kerry and the Saudi foreign minister. The reprieve is dependent on whether Al Houthis and their allies also agree to halt fighting.
