Airstrikes intensify despite call to extend Yemen truce

Aden: War planes from the pro-government Arab coalition conducted strikes on rebel positions in Yemen, officials said, hours after the UN envoy appealed for the renewal of a ceasefire.

The raids targeted positions of the Iran-backed Syiah rebels and their allies of renegade troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, the military officials and rebel media said.

“An extension (of the truce) would be useless, because even if we accept it, the other party does not make any commitment to respect the ceasefire,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mekhlafi said.

The dawn raids also hit positions in Marib and the officials said.

The intensity of air raids by the Saudi-led coalition had eased during the 72-hour ceasefire that ended at midnight on Saturday.

The UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, had appealed for a renewal of the humanitarian truce shortly before it expired.

“We noted over the last days that food and humanitarian supplies were provided to several affected neighbourhoods and that UN were able to reach areas that were previously inaccessible,” he said.

“We would like to build on this and we aim for a wider outreach in the next few days.”

But fighting on the ground was showing no signs of abating.

Fierce fighting raged in northern regions along the borders with Saudi Arabia over the weekend, killing at least 10 rebels and four Yemeni soldiers, military officials said. — AFP