(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia led air strikes against Shiite rebels in Yemen as it seeks to prop up an allied government facing the loss of its last remaining stronghold.
The Saudis headed a coalition of 10 Sunni-ruled nations that carried out bombing raids around Yemen’s capital Sana’a, which is controlled by the Houthi rebels. Some members said that a ground operation may follow. The attack came after the rebels advanced on the southern port of Aden, where forces loyal to President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi had rallied
Yemen’s conflict is drawing in neighbors and threatening a wider war in a region that holds more than half the world’s oil. Saudi Arabia and its allies support Hadi, while Shiite-led Iran has ties with the Houthi rebels. Years of unrest and uprisings have already weakened Yemen’s government and allowed al-Qaeda to establish a base in the country.
Brent crude surged for a second day, adding 3.2 percent to $58.27 a barrel at 11 a.m. in New York. Yemen’s southern tip, called the Bab el-Mandeb, is a choke point in international shipping and the global energy trade.
The U.S., which withdrew its special forces from Yemen amid the past week’s turmoil, counts Hadi’s government as an ally against al-Qaeda. President Barack Obama has “authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support” for the Gulf-led operation, the White House said in a statement.
‘Political Process’
The Houthis, who are fighting al-Qaeda throughout Yemen, accuse Hadi of tacitly supporting the jihadists.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif condemned the Gulf intervention, saying it would play into the hands of al-Qaeda and Islamic State, according to official Press TV.
The goal of the bombing is “to create conditions to go back to the political process,” Anwar Gargash, foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led campaign, told Bloomberg television.
Hadi’s foreign minister, Riad Yaseen, told Arab colleagues meeting in Egypt that the door is still open for dialogue. Hadi has left Yemen and will attend the Arab League meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, according to Al Arabiya TV.
Saudi Arabia may follow the air strikes by sending ground troops to Yemen, Saudi state TV reported, citing a person it didn’t identify. Egypt is discussing preparations with its Gulf allies for further operations including “ground forces if necessary,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said.
‘Locked Indoors’
“The swiftness of the Houthi movement south probably spurred them into action,” said James Fallon, senior Middle East analyst at Control Risks in Dubai. Saudi Arabia isn’t seeking to eliminate the Houthis as it has pushed for dialogue since the rebels seized the Yemeni capital last year, he said.
The Houthi advance has been accelerated by an alliance with Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president who ceded power to Hadi under a Gulf-brokered accord in 2011, and who still retains the loyalty of some military units.
In Aden, the main southern port where Hadi has sought to regroup after fleeing the rebel-held capital last month, there were clashes on the streets between supporters of both sides, according to Nabil al-Quaiti, a local resident.
There’s similar fighting in al-Hawttah, a provincial capital northeast of Aden, said Hisham al-Attri, who lives there. “People are locked indoors, and I’ve seen dead bodies on the streets from my house,” he said.
Sana’a Protests
The air raids hit weapons depots, military camps, anti-aircraft missiles and air bases in Sana’a and elsewhere in the country, according to Arabiya TV. The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said 18 civilians were killed at al-Dailami airbase near the capital. Four aircraft were destroyed, Yaseen said.
In Sana’a, thousands of Houthi supporters protested against the airstrikes, and chanted slogans against the Gulf countries and the U.S.
Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar said they responded to a request from Hadi, according to a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan are also part of the operation, according to Al Arabiya.
The oil-rich Sunni Arab states of the Persian Gulf, longtime U.S. allies, have pursued more assertive foreign policies in recent years, sending troops to crush a pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain and taking part in U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State in Syria.
They’re seeking to ward off perceived threats to their absolute monarchies, especially from Shiite groups or from Sunni Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood that seek power via the ballot box.
The Houthis, who follow the Zaidi branch of Shiite Islam, say they operate independently of Iran. Zaidis make up about 40 percent of Yemen’s population, concentrated in the northern half of a country that was reunified in 1990 after decades of division into two states.
To contact the reporters on this story: Glen Carey in Riyadh at gcarey8@bloomberg.net; Mohammed Hatem in Sana’a at mhatem1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net Ben Holland, Amy Teibel
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