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| US steps up arms deliveries to Saudi-led coalition in Yemen | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Washington deepened its involvement in the Saudi-led air war in Yemen on Wednesday, as aid agencies scrambled to deliver help to civilians caught up in the campaign now heading into its third week. | |
| The Red Cross has warned of a “catastrophic” situation in the main southern city of Aden, where militia loyal to the fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi have been holding out against Shia-backed Houthi rebels and their allies within the security forces. | |
| Scores of people have been killed or wounded in the street fighting in the heart of the port city and the aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières said it feared that many more had been unable to reach hospitals. | Scores of people have been killed or wounded in the street fighting in the heart of the port city and the aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières said it feared that many more had been unable to reach hospitals. |
| The main Shia power, Iran, which has strongly opposed the Saudi-led intervention, stepped up its efforts for a negotiated settlement with a visit to the Saudi ally Pakistan by foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Islamabad has so far deflected appeals by Riyadh to join the coalition of nine, mainly Sunni, Arab countries intervening in Yemen, for fear of deepening sectarian divisions at home and across the Muslim world. | |
| Iran also sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, establishing a military presence off the coast of Yemen. The destroyer and support vessel sailed from Bandar Abbas on a mission to protect Iranian shipping from piracy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in comments cited by Press TV. | |
| The US deputy secretary of state Antony Blinken said Washington was stepping up weapons deliveries and intelligence-sharing in support of the Saudi-led coalition. | |
| “Saudi Arabia is sending a strong message to the Houthis and their allies that they cannot overrun Yemen by force,” Blinken told reporters in the Saudi capital late on Tuesday. “In support of that effort, we have expedited weapons deliveries,” he said after talks with the defence minister, Mohammad bin Salman, and other officials. | |
| A US defence official told AFP that Washington was sending primarily precision-guided munitions. | A US defence official told AFP that Washington was sending primarily precision-guided munitions. |
| The coalition launched its air war on 26 March as the rebels and their allies closed in on Hadi’s last refuge, Aden, prompting him to flee to neighbouring Saudi Arabia. | The coalition launched its air war on 26 March as the rebels and their allies closed in on Hadi’s last refuge, Aden, prompting him to flee to neighbouring Saudi Arabia. |
| Riyadh accuses Tehran of backing the rebels and has vowed to bomb them into surrender to prevent them establishing a pro-Iran state on its doorstep. | Riyadh accuses Tehran of backing the rebels and has vowed to bomb them into surrender to prevent them establishing a pro-Iran state on its doorstep. |
| But the rebels have powerful allies in the security forces who have remained loyal to the former president, longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was forced from power in 2012 after a bloody, year-long, Arab Spring-inspired uprising. | |
| Eight rebels and three loyalist militiamen were killed in clashes in Aden overnight, a military source said. Saudi-led warplanes also bombed rebel positions at the city’s international airport and the huge Al-Anad air base to its north, another military source said. | Eight rebels and three loyalist militiamen were killed in clashes in Aden overnight, a military source said. Saudi-led warplanes also bombed rebel positions at the city’s international airport and the huge Al-Anad air base to its north, another military source said. |
| Al-Anad was a key monitoring post in Washington’s longstanding drone war against al-Qaida, until the US withdrew its troops as fighting intensified last month. | |
| The deepening conflict has raised fears that the jihadists will exploit the power vacuum. | The deepening conflict has raised fears that the jihadists will exploit the power vacuum. |
| Last week, al-Qaida seized much of the Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla. On Tuesday, they attacked one of the last loyalist strongholds in the city. | Last week, al-Qaida seized much of the Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla. On Tuesday, they attacked one of the last loyalist strongholds in the city. |
| Ashton Carter, the US defence secretary, acknowledged on Wednesday that the fighting in Yemen was complicating Washington’s counter-terrorism efforts but vowed that they would go on regardless. “Obviously it’s always easier to conduct CT ops when there is a stable government willing to co-operate,” he said. | Ashton Carter, the US defence secretary, acknowledged on Wednesday that the fighting in Yemen was complicating Washington’s counter-terrorism efforts but vowed that they would go on regardless. “Obviously it’s always easier to conduct CT ops when there is a stable government willing to co-operate,” he said. |
| “That circumstance now obviously doesn’t exist in Yemen but that doesn’t mean that we don’t continue to take steps to protect ourselves. We have to do it in a different way, but we do and we are.” | “That circumstance now obviously doesn’t exist in Yemen but that doesn’t mean that we don’t continue to take steps to protect ourselves. We have to do it in a different way, but we do and we are.” |
| As Iran’s most senior diplomat prepared to visit, Pakistan said it would take its time deciding whether to accept the Saudi request to join the coalition. | As Iran’s most senior diplomat prepared to visit, Pakistan said it would take its time deciding whether to accept the Saudi request to join the coalition. |
| Prime minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was “not in a hurry” to decide and that diplomatic efforts were under way involving Turkey and Iran. | Prime minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was “not in a hurry” to decide and that diplomatic efforts were under way involving Turkey and Iran. |
| The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has expressed support for the coalition without providing military forces, held talks in Tehran on Tuesday. His Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, said after their meeting: “We both think war and bloodshed must stop in this area immediately and a complete ceasefire must be established and the strikes must stop.” | The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has expressed support for the coalition without providing military forces, held talks in Tehran on Tuesday. His Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, said after their meeting: “We both think war and bloodshed must stop in this area immediately and a complete ceasefire must be established and the strikes must stop.” |
| Pakistan faces a tricky dilemma, as it has long enjoyed close ties with Riyadh and has benefited hugely from the oil-rich kingdom’s largesse. But it has called for a negotiated solution, saying it does not want to take part in any conflict that would worsen sectarian divisions in the Muslim world. | Pakistan faces a tricky dilemma, as it has long enjoyed close ties with Riyadh and has benefited hugely from the oil-rich kingdom’s largesse. But it has called for a negotiated solution, saying it does not want to take part in any conflict that would worsen sectarian divisions in the Muslim world. |