Saudi-led coalition launches operation against Houthis
Move comes after the rebels in Yemen have stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, reports state TV
The Saudi-led coalition has started a military operation against the Houthi movement in Yemen after it stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, state television reported on Wednesday.
The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported coalition air strikes on the capital Sanaa, Marib, Al Jouf, Al Bayda, Hajjah and Saada provinces on Wednesday.
The coalition, which has been battling the Iran-aligned movement for five years, will hold a news conference on the operation against Houthi targets that aims to neutralise its military capabilities, Al Ekhbariya channel and Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said.
The alliance intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.
The United Nations Security Council is demanding an “immediate cessation of hostilities” for at least 90 days in key conflicts including Syria, Yemen, Libya, South Sudan and Congo to tackle COVID-19.
The UN’S most powerful body voted unanimously on Wednesday to adopt the resolution after the United States and China resolved a lengthy dispute over mentioning the World Health Organization (WHO).
Germany’s UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, the council president for July, announced the result calling it “a sign for hope for all people currently living in conflict zones around the world.”
“It is now the obligation of the council — and all parties to armed conflicts — to implement this resolution in our work this month and beyond,” he said.
The resolution backs Secretary-general Antonio Guterres’ March 23 call for global cease-fires to tackle the pandemic. It calls on all warring parties to pause and allow safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations.
President Donald Trump suspended funding to WHO in early April, accusing the UN health agency of failing to stop the virus from spreading when it first surfaced in China.
Beijing strongly supports WHO and insisted that its role in calling for global action on COVID-19 be included in any resolution.
Last week, the Saudi-led Arab coalition intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by Houthis targeting civilians and civilian objects in Arabia.
The Coalition Spokesman Colonel Turki Al Maliki said that the coalition forces managed to destroy eight bomb-laden drones launched by the Houthi militia, reported the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.
The militias also launched three ballistic missiles from Sadah governorate, Yemen, towards Kingdom’s Najran and Jazan cities, which were intercepted by the joint coalition forces.
Al Maliki, said that the attack was “a deliberate attempt to target civilians and civilian objects.”
Al Maliki added that the Houthis continue in their “villainous attempts” aimed at civilians who are protected under International Humanitarian Law.
The attempts to deliberately target civilians reflect the failure of the terrorist militia and its immoral approach towards civilians.
“The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition continues to undertake all decisive, rigorous measures against the terrorist Houthi militia to neutralise and destroy [their] capabilities in protection of innocent civilians against these haphazard, villainous acts in accordance with the customary International Humanitarian Law,” he concluded.
The UAE also condemned the Houthi terrorist militia’s attempts to target civilian areas in Saudi cities with explosives-laden drones and ballistic missiles intercepted by Coalition forces.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), the UAE reiterated its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia against all threats to civilians, affirming its support for all measures taken by Saudi authorities to maintain the country’s security and stability.
MOFAIC also affirmed that the security of the UAE and that of Saudi Arabia are indivisible, and any threat facing the Kingdom is considered a threat to the security and stability of the UAE.
“The continuation of such attacks demonstrates the danger the Houthi coup poses to the region and further illustrates this militia’s aim to undermine regional security and stability,” it added.