Saudi-led aircraft hit ammo depots after F-16 downed
SANAA, YEMEN —— Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition pounded weapons depots on the edge of Yemen’s capital Monday, one day before a humanitarian ceasefire is due to start and a UN envoy arrives on his first visit to try to end the war.
The latest airstrikes followed the release by the Shiite rebels of video and photos of the purported wreck of a Moroccan F-16 that they claim to have shot down over the northern province of Saada near the Saudi border.
An online news site with close ties to Morocco’s royal palace and security and intelligence services said the aircraft was one of two that flew from a base in the United Arab Emirates on a reconnaissance mission over the Yemeni side of the border with Saudi Arabia.
“The Moroccan fighter jets manoeuvred, gained altitude, attempted to escape the danger, but it was too late. One of the craft was hit and went into a spin,” Le360 reported.
Yemeni security officials said Monday’s coalition airstrikes targeted arms and ammunition depots on Noqom mountain, on Sanaa’s northeastern edge. The bombardment shook the entire city, collapsing some homes and shattering windows.
The officials said the explosions were the strongest in Sanaa since the air campaign began March 26 against the rebels, known as the Houthis, and their allies in the army and security forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saudi Arabia and its coalition of Arab countries began the airstrikes to break the advance of the Houthis and Saleh’s forces, who overran the capital of Sanaa and much of northern Yemen late last year and have been on the offensive in the south. The Saudis and their allies are seeking the restoration of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country in March in the face of the Houthis’ advance.