- Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition in 2015 to battle the Houthi rebels in Yemen and restore the internationally-recognised Yemeni government to power.
- Riyadh confirmed it was behind an air strike on the Yemeni capital that killed Saleh Al-Sammad.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1292506/saudi-arabia
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia's air defenses on Friday intercepted a missile fired by Houthi militia, days after their second-in-command was killed in an air raid by Riyadh and its allies.
The missile, the latest in a series of similar attacks, was heading towards Najran, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Col. Turki Al-Maliki, the official spokesman for the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen, stated that the missile was directed towards Najran in a deliberate attempt by Houthi militia to target residential areas, but that coalition air defense forces successfully intercepted it. The missile's fragments scattered over residential areas as a result, but no injuries or damages were reported.
Saudi Arabia launched a military coalition in 2015 to battle the Houthi rebels in its southern neighbour and restore the internationally-recognized Yemeni government to power.
The Houthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, as well as much of Yemen's north and the key Hodeida port on the country's western coastline.
Riyadh on Wednesday confirmed it was behind an air strike on the Yemeni capital that killed Saleh Al-Sammad, president of the Houthi's Supreme Political Council, on April 19.
A public funeral for Al-Sammad will be held by the Houthis in Sanaa on Saturday.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/...dering-movement-of-shipments-relief-materials
Saudi Gazette report
Spokesman of the Coalition for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen Col. Turki Al-Maliki said that all military operations in Yemen, whether air, sea or land, are continuing with full capacity.
He said the number of maritime permits issued for humanitarian operations and with not-attack orders, since the beginning of military operations amount to 22,622.
Col. Al-Maliki was addressing a press conference in Riyadh, Wednesday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
He said the maritime permits issued from April 16 till now to the port of Hodeidah amounted to 12 for an equal number of ships, and the air permits reached 49 flights to the Yemeni interior. The number of passengers was 1,009, he added.
The number of permits from all land ports amounted to 36, and the maritime permits for all ports during the same period totaled 54 permits for foodstuffs, medical, oil derivatives, cattle and others, pointing out that the number of commercial vessels currently in the Yemeni ports totaled 22.
Col. Al-Maliki said the presence of 19 ships heading to the port of Hodeidah and were given permits by the Coalition forces and were not allowed to enter the port of Hodeidah by the Houthi militias merely to delay entry of materials and relief to the port so as to raise prices and create a black market.
Col. Al-Maliki named ships that were in the waiting area, noting that the coalition command has contacted many international organizations and non-government organizations to that effect.
He said the number of beneficiaries within Yemen to date amounted to 3,097,172, pointing out that interior Yemeni areas were provided with relief by 359 trips through King Salman Relief and Humanitarian Action Center.
He pointed out that the Houthi militias are obstructing the movement of shipments and relief materials and some special fuel tanks located at the checkpoint in Dhamar belonging to one of the approximately 11 international organizations that are located at the checkpoint and customs in Dhamar.
Col. Al-Maliki noted that the provinces of Saada and north of Amran are still the starting points and storage of ballistic missiles and weapons smuggled to the Houthi terrorist militia during the period from April 16 to 25.
Col. Al-Maliki said Yemen military, with the support of the coalition forces, liberated many points including Karsh, Al-Rahibah, Haif, Al-Jarrahi, Al-Makha and the city of Meihi and is preparing to advance south in the direction of Hodeidah.
Commenting on the death of Houthi number two Saleh Al-Sammad, Col. Al-Maliki said that this was inevitable. He was the head of a terrorist group and a criminal gang responsible for the killing of thousands of Yemenis and was responsible for firing ballistic missiles, incitement against neighboring countries, targeting of maritime navigation and threatening global security.
Al-Maliki reiterated that the coalition applies the highest, special targeting standards and takes all measures in terms of protecting civilians from harm and collateral damage.
Col. Al-Maliki said that the seized 19 vessels were announced and contacts were made with some UN organizations. There should be procedures according to the principles of the United Nations in declaring the Houthi militia's obstruction of this assistance for the Yemeni people, pointing out that now there are efforts being made through these organizations to move these ships to the port of Hodeidah.
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https://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/saudi-arabia-intercepts-houthi-missile-media-reports/1129725
Saudi air defenses on Friday intercepted a “ballistic missile” fired towards the kingdom’s southern Jazan region, according to Saudi television channel Al-Ekhbariya.
“Air defenses intercepted a missile fired towards Jazan by Yemen’s Houthi militia group,” the broadcaster reported without giving further details.
According to official Saudi figures, the kingdom has intercepted and destroyed
a total of 22 missiles fired from Yemeni territory within the past month alone.
Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Shia Houthis of serving as Iranian proxies -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
