Yemen - Civil War

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Saudi defense minister, interior minister supervise ‘Decisive Storm’

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the command center. (Al Arabiya)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman is leading the “Operation: Decisive Storm” air campaign, launched against Houthi militants in Yemen, alongside Deputy Crown Prince and interior minister Prince Mohammad bin Nayef who is observing the operation.

The air campaign is fighting against the Houthi coup in Yemen and in support of legitimate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Prince Salman had warned Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the son of Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, against advancing toward Aden.


Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammad bin Salman (L) alongside Deputy Crown Prince and interior minister Prince Mohammad bin Nayef (R) at the command center. (Al Arabiya)

The Houthis have joined force with the loyalists of former President Saleh in their offensive to take control of Yemen, leading King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to order the beginning of the sweeping military operation.

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.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/03/26/Saudi-defense-minister-interior-minister-supervise-Decisive-Storm-.html

Saudi halts flights at airports near Yemen border

Flights at seven airports in south of Saudi Arabia have been halted. (File photo: AP)

By AFP | Riyadh
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Saudi Arabia halted flights at seven airports near the Yemeni border on Thursday, as it launched air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, Agence France Presse reported. .

“The General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia announced a temporary suspension of international and domestic flights to and from airports in the south of the kingdom,” from dawn on Thursday, the civil aviation department said in a statement.

Last Update: Thursday, 26 March 2015 KSA 12:30 - GMT 09:30
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/03/26/Saudi-halts-flights-at-airports-near-Yemen-border.html

 

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Ambassador al-Jubeir: ‘Having Yemen fail cannot be an option’

Staff Writer, Al Arabiya News
Thursday, 26 March 2015

Saudi Ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday that the kingdom “will do anything necessary” to protect the people of Yemen and “the legitimate government of Yemen.”

“Having Yemen fail cannot be an option for us or our coalition partners,” Al-Jubeir told reporters in Washington shortly after Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz ordered a military operation against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Watch the full address by the Saudi ambassador here:

Video: Saudi ambassador in U.S. speaks on military campaign in Yemen

Loud, house-shaking explosions could be heard in the Yemen capital of Sanaa and fire and smoke could be seen in the night sky, according to an Associated Press correspondent whose home is near the military airbase in the capital.

Ambassador al-Jubeir said his government had consulted closely with the U.S. and other allies, but said the U.S. military was not involved in the operations. Nine other countries have joined the military coalition, he said from a podium at the Saudi embassy, but he declined to name them.

The Saudi strikes were the latest in a series of fast moving developments in Yemen - a rugged, poor, isolated country that is home to an al-Qaeda affiliate that has been the target of repeated American drone strikes.

Driven weeks ago from the capital by the Houthis, U.S.- and Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was targeted at least three times this week when his presidential compound came under attack.

Al-Jubeir said the Saudi airstrikes were designed “to prevent Yemen from falling into the hands of the Houthis,” but the reality is that the capital and some of the country's main cities have already fallen to the group, and ground troops will be required to take them back. The ambassador said he didn't want to discuss military details.

It was unacceptable, Al-Jubeir said, that a “militia,” as he called the Houthis, should have air power, along with “ballistic missiles, heavy weapons as well as military bases and ports.”

Al-Jubeir recounted a series of diplomatic efforts to dissuade the Houthi from continuing their offensive. But, he said, they “have always chosen the path of violence.”

He says the Saudis “will do anything necessary” to protect the people of Yemen and “the legitimate government of Yemen.”

[With AP]

Last Update: Thursday, 26 March 2015 KSA 10:56 - GMT 07:56
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/03/26/Ambassador-al-Jubeir-Having-Yemen-fail-cannot-be-an-option-.html

 

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Flights routes after Saudi-led collation imposed a NO-fly zone.

@BLACKEAGLE

I havent slept yet. It has been 24 hours already. This huge intervention in Yemen once done should go and bomb Asshead and his Iranian rats.

 

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Yemeni people march the street showing support to the military operations against Houthis.

 

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People's committees raising Saudi flags in the liberated areas.

 

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Flights routes after Saudi-led collation imposed a NO-fly zone.

@BLACKEAGLE

I havent slept yet. It has been 24 hours already. This huge intervention in Yemen once done should go and bomb Asshead and his Iranian rats.

I've only slept for few hours. It was an amazing night. At 3:30 I made myself fries, relaxed on the folding armchair and enjoyed the joyful news on the TV.

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

Saudi Arabia launches air attacks in Yemen

Saudi Arabia launches air strikes on Houthi fighters in Yemen(1:39)

By Ali al-Mujahed and Karen DeYoung March 25 at 10:20 PM

SANAA, Yemen — Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes early Thursday in neighboring Yemen, heading a coalition of Arab nations in an effort to dislodge Houthi rebels sweeping through that country.

The strikes were a startling 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.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who had taken refuge in Aden after fleeing Sanaa, the capital, was said to have escaped. His whereabouts were unknown.

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.

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.

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 had 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.

[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.

Mass funeral held in Yemen for victims of suicide bombers

People mourn victims of suicide bombers who killed at least 137 worshippers and wounded hundreds during March 20 prayers.

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.

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.

Amid the widening chaos, 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.

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.

DeYoung reported from Washington. Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
Saudi Arabia launches air attacks in Yemen - The Washington Post

 

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Egyptian navy has fired shots at Iranian warships

Egyptian navy has fired warning shots at Iranian warships near Bab el-Mandab Strait.

Early four Egyptian naval vessels to secure Gulf of Aden, Reuters reports citing Suez Canal sources, reported

Four Egyptian naval vessels have crossed the Suez Canal en route to Yemen to secure the Gulf of Aden, maritime sources at the Suez Canal said Thursday.


The sources said they expected the vessels to reach the Red Sea by Thursday evening.

Warplanes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies struck the Shiite Muslim rebels fighting to oust Yemen’s president on Thursday, a gamble by the world’s top oil exporter to check Iranian influence in its backyard without direct military backing from Washington.

The Saudi-led Firmness Storm coalition has imposed a naval blockade on Bab El-Mandab strait which connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, sources told Ahram Online.

The Saudi navy’s western fleet has also secured Yemen’s main ports including Aden and Midi.

Egyptian navy has fired shots at Iranian warships | Defence blog

 

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I've only slept for few hours. It was an amazing night. At 3:30 I made myself fries, relaxed on the folding armchair and enjoyed the joyful news on the TV.

Im amazed how we managed to have full support from most world countries like for example Belgium, Swaziland, France, UK, US..etc. Almost all Arab countries. Sudan can you imagine? I didn't expect that from Al-Bashir. He kicked all Iranians out of his country and offered full military support.

This intervention may last long and might go beyond that. The Arab league are restructuring the old agreements and conventions and will sign new ones in the next few hours. I don't want to sound emotional but this is giving me a slight of hope.

 

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Wait for the Pakistanis to claim the victory.