Wednesday, April 22, 2015

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Airstrikes Hit Taiz, Yemen, After Saudi Claims of an End to the Campaign - New York Times

The site of an airstrike in Sana, Yemen, on Tuesday. Warplanes from a Saudi-led military coalition conducted more strikes on Wednesday, hours after Saudi officials said they would halt the campaign. Mohammed Huwais/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

OBOCK, Djibouti — Warplanes from a Saudi-led military coalition conducted airstrikes in the southwestern Yemeni city of Taiz on Wednesday, hours after Saudi officials had announced they were halting their nearly monthlong bombing campaign against the Houthi rebel movement.

The warplanes bombed Houthi positions during heavy clashes in Taiz on Wednesday morning, according to a local official in the city. The new airstrikes, combined with reports of continued fighting in other parts of the country, including the southern port city of Aden, dampened hopes that the Saudi announcement would quickly result in a broader cease-fire.

Saudi officials said on Tuesday that they were stopping the aerial operation because it had achieved its objectives, including destroying heavy weapons and missiles belonging to Yemeni troops allied with the Houthis. They had faced intensifying international pressure to stop airstrikes that were killing a growing number of civilians.

The United Arab Emirates have also carried out airstrikes as part of the campaign, and the United States has contributed logistical and intelligence support.

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Map: Mapping Chaos in Yemen

But one of the principal Saudi goals remained unfulfilled: the restoration to power of the exiled Yemeni president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was driven from power by the Houthis. On Tuesday, the Saudis said they retained the right to “counter any military moves by the Houthis or their allies,” a possible signal that they intended to continue their military intervention by other means, like financing proxy troops.

The name of the Saudi operation was also changed, to “Renewal of Hope” from “Decisive Storm.”

There was little evidence of change in the nature of the combat on Wednesday. In several areas of Taiz, fierce clashes erupted between the Houthis and their allies, on one side, and militiamen loyal to Mr. Hadi on the other, according to Mohamed al-Haj, a member of the local council. The Houthi forces continued their advance, trying to capture a military brigade that declared its loyalty to Mr. Hadi.

The warplanes struck the Houthis in the morning. “There are many deaths on both sides,” Mr. Haj said.

In Aden, where weeks of urban warfare have destroyed neighborhoods and killed hundreds of people, there were exchanges of tank fire between the Houthis and their adversaries, mainly local fighters who favor an independent, southern state, residents said.

“The Houthis are still bombing and still sniping people,” said one local fighter. “They have not started moving away from Aden.”

In a statement quoted by Reuters, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an ally of the Houthis, had welcomed the Saudis’ announcement of a halt to bombing.

“We hope that everybody will return to dialogue to solve and treat all the issues,” the news agency quoted him as saying.

Saeed al-Batati contributed reporting from Al Mukalla, Yemen.




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