Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen, launches coalition op against Houthi rebels
Published time: March 25, 2015 23:49
Edited time: March 26, 2015 03:10 Get short URL


Reuters / Fahad Shadeed
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Saudi Arabian forces, joined by nine other countries, have launched a military operation in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi ambassador to the US said. The offensive, which started with airstrikes, will also involve “other military assets.”

According to Ambassador Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT). The US is not participating in the operation, the envoy stressed.

Al Arabiya reported that warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombed positions of Yemen’s Houthi militia, targeting their air defenses.

The Saudi-led coalition has declared Yemeni airspace a “restricted zone.” Ships in the region have also been urged not to approach Yemen’s ports due to the ongoing military operation.


Reports from the ground indicate that Saudi forces have bombed an office belonging to Houthi rebels in Sanaa’s Jiraf area.

A Houthi-run TV channel reported dozens of civilian casualties following airstrikes north of Sanaa.



Residents are saying that warplanes are targeting the capital’s airport, according to Reuters.

Houthis are using heavy anti-aircraft fire to respond to the bombing.


Another warplane attack was said to have been launched on Sanaa’s Dulaimi military airbase. The bombers affiliation could not be immediately confirmed.

Al-Jubair told Al Jazeera that Houthi fighters are in control of Yemeni’s ballistic and heavy weaponry and could be taking over the country’s air force. Hadi’s government officials had been calling on Gulf states to impose a no-fly zone over Yemen.



Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait issued a joint statement saying that they “decided to repel Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) in the country.” The Gulf states said they were responding to a “major threat” to the stability of the region, saying that their cause is to “repel Houthi aggression” in Yemen.


Al-Jubeir said the 10-country coalition launched the campaign “to protect and defend the legitimate government” of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after his appeal to intervene.

Hadi’s aide has revealed that the president is “in high spirits” and has remained at his Aden base in the south of Yemen. “The president...thanks Gulf countries, Egypt, Jordan, and Sudan, and all countries in the region,” the director of Hadi's office, Mohammed Marem, told Reuters. The offensive has “restored people's determination” to fight against the Houthis, he said.


Egypt is providing political and military support for the operation, the country’s state media said. Cairo is prepared to take part in air, naval and ground operations if necessary, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has announced.

Media reports said that Jordan, Sudan, Morocco and Pakistan are also part of the coalition and have offered their support for military operation in Yemen.

While the Saudi envoy insisted Washington only “consulted” Riyadh, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that America has been supporting the military operation in an unspecified way.


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Houthi leaders have in turn branded the Saudi offensive as “aggression” and warned that it will drag the entire Gulf region into conflict.

“There is an aggression underway on Yemen and we will confront it valiantly,” a member of the Houthi political office, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, told Al Jazeera. “Military operations will drag the region to a wide war.”




Obama ordered support to Saudi-led op, UN still ‘checking details’
US President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-led military operations in Yemen, the White House said in a statement, confirming that Washington had close communication with Hadi, the Saudis and other GCC states prior to the launch of the military operation.

“While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support,” the statement said.

Moreover, the White House urged the Houthis to immediately halt “destabilizing military actions” and to return to political dialogue with the deposed Yemeni government.



Meanwhile, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told TASS that the UN is aware of Saudi Arabia launching a military operation in Yemen and is looking into more details. Just a few hours before the operation, Haq told journalists that the UN does not believe in military actions to resolve the conflict in Yemen.


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