Saudi wages ‘Decisive Storm’ to save Yemen
Members of the Saudi special security forces take part in a military exercise in Arar, near Saudi Arabia's northern border with Iraq March 18, 2015. (File: Reuters)
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legitimate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
A Saudi air campaign was launched overnight which has already resulted in the
elimination of several Houthi leaders.
Yemen air space is currently under full control of the Saudi Royal Air Force.
Members of Saudi security forces gesture during a military exercise in Arar, near Saudi Arabia's northern border with Iraq March 18, 2015. (File: Reuters)
As the
operation continues, a coalition of all GCC countries, barring Oman, is taking part in the campaign, including Sudan,
Egypt,
Morocco, Jordan and
Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia has deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
Infographic: The 'Decisive Storm' coalition
(Design by Farwa Rizwan/ Al Arabiya News)
White House backs campaign
The White House has voiced
support for the campaign against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to
Washington Adel al-Jubeir announced the kingdom had launched a military operation involving air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters who have tightened their grip on the southern city of Aden where Hadi had taken refuge.
Jubeir told reporters that a 10-country coalition had joined in the military campaign in a bid “to protect and defend the legitimate government” of Hadi.
“We will do whatever it takes in order to protect the legitimate government of Yemen from falling,” Jubeir said.
The U.S. has said it is coordinating closely with Saudi Arabia.
“President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC-led military operations,” National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Saudi-led military coalition declared Yemen’s airspace as a “restricted area” after King Salman bin Abdulaziz ordered the airstrikes on the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Thursday at 12 a.m. Riyadh time.
Yemeni forces and loyalists to Hadi have already managed to control Aden airport from Houthi militias, Al Arabiya News Channel reported citing sources.
Hadi, who has remained in Aden, is in high spirits after thelaunch of the operation against the Houthi rebel group opposed to his rule, an aide said.
‘Repel Houthi aggression’
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman had warned Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the son of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, against advancing toward Aden.
A member of the Saudi security forces stands guard as other demonstrate their skills during a military exercise in Arar, near Saudi Arabia's northern border with Iraq March 18, 2015. (File: Reuters)
The Houthis have joined force with the loyalists of former President Saleh in their offensive to take control of Yemen.
Operation ‘Decisive Storm’ to continue
Yemeni Foreign Minister Riad Yassine told Al Arabiya News Channel that the operations would continue until the Houthis agree to join peace talks and backtrack on all measures taken since their occupation of the capital Sanaa last September.
“We do not recognize any of what happened after September 21,” Yassine told Al Arabiya News, saying the military operation would help the southern Yemenis “regain confidence.”
Demonstrations reportedly broke out in Yemen’s Hadramout and Aden in support of the Saudi airstrikes on the Houthi militia.
The military operation came shortly after Arab Gulf states, barring Oman, announced that they have decided to “repel Houthi aggression” in neighboring Yemen, following a request from Hadi.
In their joint statement Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait said they “decided to repel Houthi militias, al-Qaeda and ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] in the country.”
The Gulf states warned that the Houthi coup in Yemen represented a “major threat” to the region’s stability.
The Gulf states also accused the Iranian-backed militia of conducting military drills on the border of Saudi Arabia with “heavy weapons.”
In an apparent reference to Iran, the Gulf statement said the “Houthi militia is backed by regional powers in order for it to be their base of influence.”
The Gulf states said they had monitored the situation and the Houthi coup in Yemen with “great pain” and accused the Shiite militia of failing to respond to warnings from the United Nations Security Council as well as the GCC.
The statement stressed that the Arab states had sought over the previous period to restore stability in Yemen, noting the last initiative to host peace talks under the auspices of the GCC.
Call for U.N. action
In a letter sent the U.N. Security Council seen by Al Arabiya News, Hadi requested “immediate support for the legitimate authority with all means and necessary measures to protect Yemen, and repel the aggression of the Houthi militia that is expected at any time on the city of Aden and the province of Taiz, Marib, al-Jouf [and] an-Baidah.”
In his letter Hadi said such support was also needed to control “the missile capability that was looted” by the Houthi militias.
Hadi also told the Council that he had requested from the Arab Gulf states and the Arab League “immediate support with all means and necessary measures, including the military intervention to protect Yemen and its people from the ongoing Houthi aggression.”
Read also: Saudi warplanes bomb Houthi positions in Yemen
Read also: King Salman orders airstrikes against Houthis
Read also: Yemeni forces retake Aden airport
Read also: UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan deploy warplanes against Houthis
Read also: Ambassador al-Jubeir: ‘Having Yemen fail cannot be an option’
Read also: Reports: top Houhti military commanders killed in Saudi airstrikes
Last Update: Thursday, 26 March 2015 KSA 10:51 - GMT 07:51
