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Saudi Arabia launches heavy strikes in Yemen Saudi Arabia targets strategic areas around Yemen in heavy bombardment
(about 3 hours later)
SANAA, Yemen — Saudi Arabia heavily bombed neighboring Yemen Thursday, targeting strategic areas of the capital, including the airport, rebel bases, and the presidential palace, as well as military installations held by rebels around the country. SANAA, Yemen — Saudi Arabia launched intense airstrikes on neighboring Yemen on Thursday, targeting key sites including the country’s main airport, as part of a bold Arab-led offensive to weaken powerful Shiite rebels who have put the country’s president on the run.
The Dalaimi air force base in the capital — near Sanaa airport — was bombed and runways were destroyed, as well as several Yemeni warplanes. Other bases being used by the surging Shiite rebels were also attacked. The attacks plunged Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies into the deepening crisis in Yemen after a rebel advance forced the country’s Western-backed president to flee and left the Shiite insurgents, known as Houthis, on the brink of claiming control of the country’s two largest cities.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya News reported that Saudi Arabia had deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units, the Associated Press reported. News footage of the strikes aired by Saudi-owned Al-Hadath TV showed flashing lights and what sounded like machine gun fire. The Saudi-led campaign also reflects a balance-of-power showdown with Shiite power Iran, which is believed to back the Houthi rebels and could gain new footholds on the Sunni-dominated Arabian peninsula.
Amid the widening chaos, frightened residents of the capital reported heavy bombardments continuing on and off throughout the morning hours. “You can almost hear the ground underneath your feet shake,” an unidentified Sanaa resident, who was hiding out in his basement, told the British Broadcasting Corporation from the besieged capital Thursday morning. It was unclear whether the initial airstrikes could reverse the Houthi gains and help restore to power President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who had been driven out of the capital, Sanaa, and then abandoned his last outpost in the southern port of Aden on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties. There were reports that several houses near the airport were damaged, but those reports could not immediately be verified. Saudi Arabia has mobilized a major force — with direct or political support of other Sunni states — that suggested it was prepared for a sustained fight that could mirror the U.S.-led attacks against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Saudi Arabia launched the airstrikes overnight Thursday, heading a coalition of Arab nations in an effort to dislodge Houthi rebels sweeping through Yemen. The United States — which viewed Hadi as a key partner in the fight against Yemen’s al-Qaeda branch — offered intelligence help and other logistical support as part of a “joint planning cell” with the Saudi-led force.
[Pentagon loses track of $500 million in weapons, equipment given to Yemen]
In Switzerland, Secretary of State John F. Kerry took time away from nuclear talks with Iran to join a telephone conference with the foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc anchored by Saudi Arabia.
And in a sign of the regional tensions, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, denounced the Saudi-led attacks and suggested Tehran could expand its opposition.
“We will spare no effort to contain the crisis in Yemen,” Zarif told Iran’s Arabic-language al-Alam channel.
Meanwhile, financial markets reacted to the fast-moving events in Yemen, with many stock exchanges falling and global oil prices surging.
The initial wave of airstrikes appeared concentrated on the Sanaa area, hitting Houthi bases, the rebel-held presidential palace and the Dalaimi air force — destroying runways and warplanes used in rebel attacks.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya News reported that Saudi Arabia had deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units. Saudi Arabia has massed troops and tanks on its border with Yemen.
Saudi state TV said a ground offensive was being studied, but gave no further details.
Amid the widening chaos, frightened residents of the capital reported heavy bombardments. The extent of casualties was not immediately clear.
“You can almost hear the ground underneath your feet shake,” an unidentified Sanaa resident, who was hiding out in his basement, told the British Broadcasting Corporation from the besieged capital Thursday morning.
The strikes were a dramatic turn of events that came as the Houthis, in control of Yemen’s capital for months, barreled south toward the coastal city of Aden, seizing an air base along the way that was evacuated by U.S. Special Operations forces­ last week. Thursday’s airstrikes also targeted that captured airbase.The strikes were a dramatic turn of events that came as the Houthis, in control of Yemen’s capital for months, barreled south toward the coastal city of Aden, seizing an air base along the way that was evacuated by U.S. Special Operations forces­ last week. Thursday’s airstrikes also targeted that captured airbase.
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who had taken refuge in Aden after fleeing Sanaa, the capital, was said to have escaped. His whereabouts remained unknown Thursday. The military base in the president’s hometown in Sanhan, near the capital, was also targeted in the airstrikes. The whereabouts of Yemen’s embattled president Hadi remained unclear.
The military operation was announced Wednesday evening in Washington by Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, who said it would last until Yemen’s “legitimate government” was restored. Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir said the attacks would last until Yemen’s “legitimate government” was restored. A coalition of more than 10 countries had joined the military campaign, including Gulf Arab states, Egypt, Jordan and Sudan.
The Saudi-led airstrikes also targeted where Houthi rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi is believed to be staying. Quickly, pledges of support were issued from a range of nations across the Muslim world including Morocco and Turkey.
Jubeir said the airstrikes began at 7 p.m. Washington time and were conducted by Saudi Arabia along with “partner nations in the Persian Gulf” and others, although he declined to specify any other participants. He said that some countries had already transferred military assets to Saudi Arabia and that others were on their way. Four Egyptian naval vessels were expected to arrive off Yemen’s coast later Thursday.
The United States was not involved in the operation, he said. But the White House announced late Wednesday that President Obama had authorized U.S. forces­ to provide logistical and intelligence support to the operation. American forces were establishing a “Joint Planning Cell” with Saudi Arabia to coordinate military and intelligence assistance, the statement said.
Jubeir said the airstrikes targeted sites around the country, including Sanaa. “The operations are limited to defending the government and preventing its collapse,” he said.
The gulf countries acted as Aden was close to being seized by the rebels, a victory that would give them control of the country’s main sea gateway.
Hadi has been a key ally of Saudi Arabia and the United States, which has depended on his government to support its efforts against Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP holds patches of the country and views the Houthis as foes in the competition for influence and Yemen’s modest oil wealth. U.S. efforts included training of Yemeni special operations forces and drone strikes launched from the al-Anad air base, about 35 miles from Aden.Hadi has been a key ally of Saudi Arabia and the United States, which has depended on his government to support its efforts against Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP holds patches of the country and views the Houthis as foes in the competition for influence and Yemen’s modest oil wealth. U.S. efforts included training of Yemeni special operations forces and drone strikes launched from the al-Anad air base, about 35 miles from Aden.
[Who are the Houthis?][Who are the Houthis?]
On a broader level, Yemen represents a potential proxy battlefield for Shiite power Iran and the Sunni Gulf Arab states allied with Washington.
Houthi forces seized the al-Anad base this week and reportedly were already flying attack planes from there.
Saudi Arabia last launched military action in Yemen in 2009, conducting airstrikes against the Houthis near the Saudi border after it said its border guards had been fired upon.Saudi Arabia last launched military action in Yemen in 2009, conducting airstrikes against the Houthis near the Saudi border after it said its border guards had been fired upon.
Although the Saudis were also said to have massed ground forces­ along the border this week, any ground intervention would require a long and difficult trip through the heart of Houthi-held territory to reach Aden.
Hadi’s government had appealed for military intervention from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is anchored by the Saudis and includes Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. In an emergency meeting last weekend, Yemen also called on the United Nations to authorize foreign armed forces to enter its territory.Hadi’s government had appealed for military intervention from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is anchored by the Saudis and includes Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. In an emergency meeting last weekend, Yemen also called on the United Nations to authorize foreign armed forces to enter its territory.
Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia and its partners had made every effort to prevent violence but that those attempts had been thwarted by the Houthis. They are now “in control of ballistic missiles and heavy weapons,” in addition to Yemeni aircraft, he said.Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia and its partners had made every effort to prevent violence but that those attempts had been thwarted by the Houthis. They are now “in control of ballistic missiles and heavy weapons,” in addition to Yemeni aircraft, he said.
Hadi’s whereabouts remained unclear. Senior Yemeni security officials told The Washington Post that Hadi had left his stronghold in Aden, where his government sought a foothold after being driven from Sanaa by the Houthis.
Looters swarmed the presidential buildings in Aden, and fighting flared on several fronts on the edge of the city, said Anis Mansour, editor of the port city’s Huna Aden newspaper.
“What is happening in Aden is an invasion,” Mansour said.
Yemen’s foreign minister, Riyadh Yaseen, told Al Jazeera from Egypt that Hadi was in a “secure” place in Aden. But later officials told the Associated Press that Hadi and top aides had escaped on two boats.
A senior member of the Houthi political committee, Dhaif Allah Alshami, denied that Hadi had slipped away by sea and said the rebels were seeking him in the city.
Alshami claimed the insurgents had taken over the compound where Hadi maintained his government after being driven from Sanaa. The deputy editor of the Almasdar news agency, Ali Alfaqeeh, said that the site has come under shelling and that there were no sign of Hadi’s forces­ mounting a counter­offensive.
In Washington, White House press secretary Josh Earnest strongly condemned the Houthi offensive and accused former president Ali Abdullah Saleh of working with the rebels “to foment a lot of instability in the country.”
“And so, we would call on them to stop that instability and that violence,” he said. Saleh was driven from power by Arab Spring-inspired uprisings in 2012 but has remained an important power broker in Yemen. Earnest said that the Obama administration still recognized Hadi as president.
He added that “there are elements of the Yemeni government that we continue to be in touch with” on counter­terrorism operations aimed at the country’s al-Qaeda affiliate, but he did not provide details. He said he could not confirm Hadi’s location. But the White House statement issued Wednesday evening said that the U.S. government had been “in close contact with President Hadi and our regional partners.”
In Aden, shopkeeper Abduljabar Mohammed said the streets emptied as the rebel attacks intensified.
“I have been hiding in my shop,” he said by telephone. “The people are afraid and worried for their safety. We don’t know what to expect.”
Houthi-controlled state television said a nearly $100,000 bounty was being offered for the president’s capture.
Some members of Hadi’s inner circle, meanwhile, appeared to have run out of room. Rebels said they had captured the country’s defense minister and a top aide near Aden.
[ Yemen’s collapse also sinks U.S. counterterrorism strategy]
Security officials told The Post that Hadi fled his compound just hours after the rebels announced that they had taken the al-Anad air base.
Later, the rebels reported taking control of Aden’s civilian airport.
The unraveling of Hadi’s power over the past months has dealt a significant blow to U.S.-led efforts to wage drone attacks and other pinpoint strikes against suspected strongholds of the Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda, which is considered among the terrorist group’s most active networks. Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels have claimed increasing territory.The unraveling of Hadi’s power over the past months has dealt a significant blow to U.S.-led efforts to wage drone attacks and other pinpoint strikes against suspected strongholds of the Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda, which is considered among the terrorist group’s most active networks. Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels have claimed increasing territory.
Last week, suicide bombers killed at least 137 people at two Shiite mosques in Sanaa in an attack linked to adherents of the Islamic State.Last week, suicide bombers killed at least 137 people at two Shiite mosques in Sanaa in an attack linked to adherents of the Islamic State.
Daniela Deane reported from London. Karen DeYoung and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Washington. Daniela Deane in London and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.