Houthi rebels gain ground in Yemen despite Saudi strikes
SANAA, Yemen — Shiite Houthi rebels seized partial control of a provincial capital that is the gateway to Yemen’s main natural gas export terminal, residents and officials reported Thursday, as the Saudi-led air war entered its third week.
In the capital, Sanaa, an aerial bombardment hit the Defense Ministry, sending plumes of smoke skyward and shattering windows in nearby buildings. Other strikes targeted the bases of Houthis and their allies south and north of Sanaa.
With fighting growing fiercer daily, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for a cease-fire, echoing an appeal a day earlier from his foreign minister. The Houthis are aligned with Iran, the region’s principal Shiite power, although Tehran denies arming them.
Rouhani stressed that a truce should be made for humanitarian reasons, not because the insurgents and their allies were being defeated.
“Bombardment will not bring a nation to its knees,” the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. “Stop killing innocent children. ... Let’s create an atmosphere in which Yemeni can talk to Yemeni.”
The conflict in Yemen, already the Arab world’s poorest country, has triggered a humanitarian disaster, with food, water, medical supplies and electricity running short in many areas. Civilian casualties are mounting; at least 643 civilians have been killed and more than 2,200 wounded, according to the United Nations.
The Saudi-led airstrikes have so far failed to dislodge the Houthis from Aden, the southern port city that is Yemen’s main commercial hub. Fierce fighting, some of it with heavy weapons such as field artillery, continued Thursday in central districts, with explosions reverberating across the city.
Coalition bombardment, while said to be slowing the Houthis’ offensive, has not prevented the insurgents from making territorial gains. The entry of Houthi fighters into Ataq, the capital of eastern Shabwa province, puts them within 100 miles of the Belhaf gasexport terminal on the Arabian Sea, which would be a major prize.
Shabwa province is predominantly Sunni, and Ataq is the home base of a powerful Sunni tribe. Reports from Ataq said the Houthis had taken over some municipal offices and security compounds, but were expected to face resistance from tribal forces.
Yemen’s fighting has become a proxy battle waged along sectarian lines, with Iran backing forces loyal to ex-strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis, who are adherents of the Shiite offshoot Zaydi sect. The coalition led by predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia is seeking to restore the rule of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the internationally recognized leader of the nation who was forced to flee the Houthi advance.