Saudi and Egyptian warships deployed Friday to the Bab al-Mandab
strait off Yemen to secure the strategic sea passage, Egyptian military
officials said, as a Saudi-led coalition widened their airstrikes on the
second day of an air campaign against Shiite rebels and their allies,
aiming to pave the way for possible ground operations.
A top
priority for the campaign after the air campaign was weakened the rebels
is for coalition troops -likely Egyptians - to move into the southern
port city of Aden, a main stronghold of supporters of President Abed
Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced to leave the country as the rebels
and their allies moved on Aden, Yemeni and Egyptian military officials
said.
That could prove a tough prospect. On Friday, rebel
fighters and their allies - military units loyal to former President Ali
Abdullah Saleh - were moving through southern Abyan province toward
Aden, aiming to reinforce their fighters already in the city, Yemeni
security officials said. At the same time, pro-Hadi military units and
militiamen were fighting rebel forces in street battles in several
southern cities on Friday.
Saudi and Egyptian plans
The
events Friday and the comments by the military officials, who spoke to
The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, gave an initial picture
of Saudi and Egyptian plans in the conflict that abruptly burst into a
regional fight on Thursday after months of chaos within Yemen.
Saudi
Arabia and its allies are aiming push back the Shiite rebels, known as
Houthis, and Saleh's forces, which have taken over the capital, Sanaa,
and much of the mountainous, impoverished nation. The ultimate goal is
to restore Hadi, who was expected to arrive in Egypt on Friday for an
Arab summit the following day. Saudi Arabia fears the Houthis will give
Shiite powerhouse Iran a new foothold on its southern border.
Yemeni
Foreign Minister Riad Yassin said there was an “arrangement” for ground
troops of the Saudi-led coalition to deploy in Yemen. “It's a
comprehensive military operation,” he told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya
news channel. He said Egyptian naval forces are heading to Bab
al-Mandab.
Several Egyptian military officials told the AP that
Egyptian and Saudi warships were already at or near the strait. One
official said two destroyers and two other vessels were at the strait.
Egypt has said securing the passage is a priority for it in the
conflict, since Bab al-Mandab is the entrance to the Red Sea, leading
from the Arabian Sea to its Suez Canal, a vital route for shipping
between Europe and Asia.
Constant bombardment
After more
than 36 hours of airstrikes by Friday afternoon, more than 40 percent
of Yemen's air defenses were destroyed, according to Yemeni Brig. Gen.
Saleh al-Subaihi, a pro-Hadi officer.
Yemeni security officials
said around 80 fighters had been killed in the strikes - some from the
Houthis, but most from among Saleh's forces. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the
press. The first salvo of airstrikes before dawn Thursday also killed 18
civilians - including six children - when they flattened a block of
homes in an impoverished neighborhood near Sanaa's airport.
Diminishing
Saleh's forces is a key step before any ground action. Saleh, who ruled
Yemen with an autocratic hand for decades, was removed in 2012
following an Arab Spring popular uprising against him, and Hadi was
installed in his place.
But Saleh remained in Yemen and
maintained widespread influence, particular in the fragmented military
and security forces. One Yemeni security official on Friday estimated
that 70 percent of the military remained loyal to him, including many of
the best trained and equipped units, and they are in bases around the
country. Their support for the Houthis has been crucial to the rebels'
takeover.
Airstrikes on Friday struck in at least six provinces.
In the capital Sanaa, heavy airstrikes came in waves overnight, shaking
the city as anti-aircrafy guns fired. New strikes hit Saada, the
northern stronghold of the Houthis, aiming at locations where rebel
leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi might be, the Yemeni military officials
said. The grave of his brother Hussein al-Houthi, founder of the rebel
group, was demolished in the strikes. The attacks prompted Houthis to
shut down schools and cancel classes indefinitely, according to a
statement sent to reporters by the group.
Saudi warplanes also
bombed camps and bases of pro-Saleh army forces northeast of Sanaa and
in the southern provinces of al-Dhale and Lahj. In the oil- and gas-rich
north-central provinces of Marib, strikes targeted radar facilities.
Vast control
Retired
Yemeni army officer Nasser al-Marqashi said he expects the airstrikes
to continue for a week to weaken the air defenses before a ground
offensive, which would likely be launched from Aden or from the
country's sparsely populated far eastern Hadramout province, where Hadi
also has supporters.
Houthis and the Saleh loyalists control at
least 10 of Yemen's 21 provinces. But in many of those places, their
hold is not complete, particularly in the south. In Dhamar and Taiz -
two areas overrun by the rebels - thousands of demonstrators staged
protests Friday in support of the Saudi airstrikes.
In the southern city of al-Dhale - capital of the province of the same name - pro-Hadi militias were fighting Saleh's forces.
Battles
were also going on in the southern city of al-Houta, just north of
Aden. There, part of the city is controlled by pro-Hadi militias,
another part is controlled by al-Qaida militants, and both were
separately fighting Houthi and pro-Saleh forces trying to take the area,
Yemeni security officials said.
Saudi Arabia and fellow
Sunni-led allies in the Gulf and the Middle East view the Houthi
takeover as an attempt by Iran to establish a proxy on the kingdom's
southern border. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebel
movement, though it says it provides diplomatic and humanitarian
support.
No direct military action
According to defense
officials in Washington, the U.S. is providing refueling tankers and
surveillance flights for the Saudi operations, and there are several
U.S. troops working in the operations center. The White House said the
U.S. was not taking direct military action.
Iran has denounced the Saudi-led air campaign, calling it “dangerous step.”
Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said in a statement Friday that
Tehran was “ready to cooperate with its brothers in the region, to make
it easier for different groups in Yemen to have dialogue to protect the
(country's) integrity and facilitate restoration of stability.”
The
comment came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an
interview that his country could provide logistical support for the
Saudi-led military operation. Zarif said Iran respects its strategic
relations with Turkey.
On Friday, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah
el-Sissi reiterated Cairo's commitment to Gulf security in a phone call
with Saudi King Salman, saying “the security of the Gulf is a red line
and part and parcel of Egyptian national security,” according to
presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef.
A high-level delegation from
Pakistan was traveling to Saudi Arabia on Friday to hold talks on
Yemen, following a meeting in Pakistan chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif to assess the situation.
“If the sovereignty or
territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia is threatened, Pakistan will
defend it,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told
parliament in remarks carried live on state-run television. He said
there had been no decision to take part in the Yemeni conflict.
President Barack Obama offered U.S. support for air strikes led by
Saudi Arabia and Gulf allies on Houthi militia camps in Yemen during a
phone call with King Salman, the White House said Friday.
"The
President and King Salman agreed that our collective goal is to achieve
lasting stability in Yemen through a negotiated political solution
facilitated by the United Nations and involving all parties as
envisioned in the GCC Initiative," National Security Council spokeswoman
Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.
The remarks follow U.S. lawmakers of both parties reiterating their support for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen against Houthi rebels, named “
Operation Decisive Storm.”
“I
applaud the Saudis for taking this action to protect their homeland and
to protect their own neighborhood,” House Speaker John Boehner, a
Republican, said at a news conference. “If America leads, our allies in
the region would be tickled to death and would be happy to join a
coalition. But America has to lead.”
The Obama administration has
said it is providing “logistical and intelligence support” for the
operations. Meehan had earlier justified the offensive against the
Houthis as having been requested by Hadi and Yemen’s “legitimate
government.”
“While U.S. forces are not taking direct military
action in Yemen in support of this effort,” she said in a statement, “we
are establishing a joint planning cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate
U.S. military and intelligence support.”
The White House on Thursday expressed concern about Iran's alleged role in stoking violence in Yemen.
“We have concerns about Iranian activities in Yemen and reports of
Iranian flow of arms into Yemen,” Alistair Baskey told Agence
France-Presse.
Saudi fighter plane gets American help
Meanwhile,
a Saudi fighter plane was hit by a technical problem and its two pilots
ejected over the Red Sea on Friday, state media said, adding that the
pair had been returned to the country with American help.
"A
plane of the F-15S type was stricken by a technical fault yesterday
evening over the Red Sea and the two pilots were forced to use their
rescue seats," state news agency SPA
quoted a defense ministry official saying.
"Praise
be to God, the pilots were rescued in coordination with the American
side, and the two pilots are in good health and high spirits," the
official said.
‘Decisive Storm’ continues
Fighter jets
of Saudi-led coalition forces pounded a Republican Guard camp in the
Yemeni capital of Sanaa as Operation “Decisive Storm” continued for the second day targeting Houthi strongholds and their camps on Friday.
Saudi
and Egyptian warships deployed Friday to the Bab al-Mandab strait off
Yemen to secure the strategic sea passage, Egyptian military officials
said, aiming to pave the way for possible ground operations, the
Associated Press reported.
Earlier on Friday, Yemen’s former
president Ali Abdullah Saleh - who is allied with Houthi leaders and
large parts of the army - called for a ceasefire and the resumption of
U.N.-brokered dialogue between warring parties.
Witnesses said an
air raid by the coalition forces targeted both Houthi members and
supporters of Saleh in al-Istiqbal military camp west of the capital.
“Decisive
Storm” also launched its air strikes south of Yemen where Houthis and
their allies are trying to expand. They targeted al-Anad military camp,
which the Houthis had seized last Wednesday.