Regional offensive against rebels trying

to take over Yemen presses on

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Thousands of angry Houthis rallied in the Yemen capital of Sanaa on Thursday to

protest airstrikes on Houthi rebels by Saudi Arabia and its allies. (Reuters)

By Ali al-Mujahed and Hugh Naylor-March 27 at 4:21 AM

SANAA, Yemen Saudi Arabia pressed its bombardment of neighboring Yemen on

Friday, striking near the presidential compound in the rebel-controlled capital at dawn
as well as at military installations, residents reported.
Egyptian warships were also steaming toward the Yemeni coast as part of an Arab-led
offensive against Shiite rebels seeking to take over Yemen in what has become a
showdown between the major powers in the Middle East.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Riad Yassin, speaking in Egypt, told the British Broadcasting
Corporation that the airstrikes, an action the country was forced to request because of
what is happening on the ground, should end as soon as possible.

If they completed their mission in the coming days, or the coming hours, the
operation would end, he said in the interview. Yassin said he hoped it would prove a
short, sharp campaign, which could finish as soon as the Houthi advance is halted.
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies plunged into the Yemen crisis after Shiite insurgents,
known as Houthis, pushed south from their power base in the north, forcing the
countrys pro-Saudi, Western-backed president to flee.

Saudi airstrikes in Yemen VIEW GRAPHIC

The move inflamed the already tense relationship between Shiite power Iran, which
has increased its support for the Houthis as their rebellion has expanded, and Saudi
Arabia and other Sunni-dominated nations.
Some officials warned that the fight could escalate further. Saudi state TV said
Thursday that a ground offensive was being studied but gave no further details. Egypts

minister of foreign affairs, Sameh Shoukri, said in a speech to Arab foreign ministers
that his country was willing to send ground forces if necessary to back the antiHouthi fight.
Four Egyptian naval vessels were dispatched for Yemen, where they were expected to
arrive late Thursday, according to official news media. There was no immediate news
of their arrival.
Ground forces would probably face stiff resistance from the Houthis, who have taken
control of large swathes of Yemen and appear to have strong support from the
countrys military and the powerful former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In a televised speech, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi predicted that Yemenis
would oppose the criminal, unjust and unjustified aggression by Saudi Arabia.
But the military pressure could force the rebels back into power-sharing talks that
collapsed in January, when the insurgents put President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi
under house arrest after clashes in the capital. In February, the Houthis effectively
toppled the government.
[What Saudi Arabias bombing of Yemen means for the Middle East]
Saudi Arabia leads airstrikes in Yemen

View Photos
The campaign, with a coalition of Arab nations, is an effort to dislodge Houthi rebels
sweeping through Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has mobilized a major force, suggesting that it was prepared for a
sustained fight. Up to 10 countries are believed to be participating in the Saudi-led
coalition, although many have refrained from acknowledging their role.
Bahrain said Thursday that it had responded to a Saudi call for assistance by sending
12 fighter jets. Jordans Petra News Agency, quoting unnamed official individuals,
said that Jordan was also taking part in the offensive. The report did not describe
Jordans aid, which is believed to consist of fighter jets. Sudan said it would join the
operation, and Pakistan said its defense minister would visit Saudi Arabia on Friday to
assess how it could help the kingdom.
The United States had viewed Hadi as a key partner in the fight against al-Qaeda,
whose Yemen branch is considered especially dangerous. Washington has offered
intelligence help and other logistical support to the current Saudi-led operation.

It was unclear how Iran would respond to the show of strength by Saudi Arabia and its
allies. Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told Irans Arabic-language alAlam channel that we will spare no effort to contain the crisis in Yemen. But the
Reuters news agency quoted an unidentified senior Iranian official as saying that
military intervention is not an option for Tehran.
According to Saudi-owned al-Arabiya News, Saudi Arabia has dedicated 100 fighter
jets, 150,000 soldiers and navy units to the operation in Yemen.
Saudi officials have said they are seeking to restore Hadi to power. He was driven from
his last outpost in the southern port of Aden on Wednesday. He resurfaced Thursday
at an air base in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, and Egypts Shoukri announced Thursday
during the meeting of Arab foreign ministers that the officials had decided to create a
unified military force able to respond to crises. It was to be discussed further at an
Arab League Summit that is to begin Saturday in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm
el-Sheikh.
The air attacks in Yemen began early Thursday. Saudi fighter jets struck the main
civilian airport and the Dailami air force base in Sanaa, which is under the control of
the Houthis, hitting the runways and destroying four Yemeni air force planes. In the
south, the invading forces pounded al-Anad military base, where about 100 U.S.
Special Operations troops had been stationed before they pulled out last week.
[Chart: Yemens chaos, explained]
There were also airstrikes in the northern province of Saada, apparently aimed at
hitting the Houthi leader.
At least 23 people were killed in the attacks, according to a Yemen Ministry of Health
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to

comment. They included six children and four women, the official said. At least 47
people were wounded, he said.
This morning was horrific. We woke up to the sounds of heavy shelling, said Salah
Mohammed, 35, an airline employee who lives near the airport. As explosions rang
out, he said, he ran upstairs to bring his mother, sisters and children to safety.
We all stayed in the hall downstairs as the heavy shelling and sounds of the antiaircrafts started to intensify. The electricity was off, and I had no idea what was going
on. The children were crying, and we were all worried, he said.
After the attacks subsided, he went out to inspect the damage. At least six houses near
the airport were destroyed, Mohammed said. We reject such actions, and this is an
invasion, he said.
Other residents, however, said they were grateful that the Houthis were facing
resistance.
I oppose any foreign military interference, said Osama Muhsin Alabdali, 34, a
supervisor in a telecommunications company. However, I am also glad that the
Houthis are being stopped, especially since they started moving toward the south.
Supporters of the Houthis joined a big protest in Sanaa on Thursday condemning the
attacks. In Taiz, a south-central city recently seized by the Houthis, residents flocked to
a demonstration supporting the offensive. Some carried signs saying Thank you,
Saudi Arabia, according to images shown on regional TV.
Hadis government had appealed recently 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.
According to the Egyptian state newspaper El Ahram, Egypt has sent four naval

warships to the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. A military individual quoted anonymously
by the paper stated that the naval vessels were going to secure the theater to
maintain control of Egyptian territorial waters but that they were on alert to intervene
in any way deemed necessary by the armed forces.
In Switzerland, Secretary of State John F. Kerry took time away fromnuclear talks with
Iran to join a telephone conference with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation
Council. The U.S. government has had tosignificantly scale back its counterterrorism
presence in Yemen because of the Houthi advances.
Meanwhile, financial markets reacted to the fast-moving events in Yemen, with many
stock exchanges falling and global oil prices surging.
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.
Daniela Deane contributed to this report from London.
Read more:
What Saudi Arabias bombing of Yemen means for the Middle East
Pakistans long history of fighting Saudi Arabias wars
Who are the Houthis?

Hugh Naylor is a Beirut-based correspondent for The Post. He

has reported from over a dozen countries in the Middle East for
such publications as The National, an Abu Dhabi-based
newspaper, and The New York Times.
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