The main aim of the military operations in Yemen currently is to cut off the major supply routes of the Houthis, a senior defense official said on Friday.
“The coalition forces are implementing this particular objective,” said Brig. Gen. Ahmad Assiri, consultant in the office of the defense minister, at press conference.
He said the UAE forces had contributed heavily to the operations on Friday. The coalition forces bombed several Houthi hideouts, he said.
According to Assiri, advanced, precision-guided weapons have been deployed to avoid civilian casualties. He said the airstrikes would continue until all the objectives are achieved. For the time being there were no plans for ground troops. However, there are Yemeni forces on the ground loyal to the legitimate president of Yemen, he said.
On Friday, the action was around Al-Anad Air Base near Aden. “There was Houthi movement there and we have neutralized them. The base is now under coalition control.”
He said the coalition forces carried out a raid cutting off Houthi supply routes. “They can no longer send reinforcements from Sanaa to Saada,” he said.
“There is around the clock air patrols and every Houthi movement is being closely monitored,” he said. “Reconnaissance planes are capturing every single detail.”
He said all operations are being coordinated with the legitimate president of Yemen, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and his government. He said the coalition forces have called on Yemeni citizens to avoid areas of conflict “because we are very concerned about their safety.”
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman made a series of phone calls late on Thursday to regional leaders, the SPA reported. The king spoke with the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, King of Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani, Jordan’s King Abdallah, Sudanese President Omar Bashir, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and Moroccan King Mohammed.
The king received a phone call on Friday from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Grand Mosque Imam Osama Al-Khayyat said in his Friday sermon that King Salman is fulfilling his Islamic duty by helping the people of Yemen,
“Almighty Allah has helped King Salman take this decisive and correct Islamic stand, in response to the call made by the legitimate president of the Republic of Yemen, to help the Muslim Yemeni nation, and protect its cities from the savagery and hostility of the oppressors …”
He said the action was supported by local and international leaders and would help stop the “enemy’s expansionist practices which threaten the security of Yemeni cities and the security and peace of the region.” He prayed for the success of the operation.
Al-Khayyat said it was important for people to remain united during times of disasters and wars. Believers should avoid disputes, work hard and learn to recognize and reject propaganda of people with ulterior motives, he said.
Imam and khateeb at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Sheikh Hussein Al-Asheikh, said the situation in Yemen had deteriorated to such an extent that it was causing chaos, and threatening the security of Yemen and neighboring Muslim countries. The situation also threatened to break up the country. In addition, the civil war was draining the country’s resources and destroying its people, he said.
Al-Asheikh also expressed worry over the violence in Muslim nations. The most dangerous threat to a Muslim country was violence originating from inside it, he said. Meanwhile, Washington said it would retaliate with all its power against whoever attacks Saudi Arabia, according to Al Arabiya.
The report came as the Saudi envoy said the Kingdom was very pleased with the level of coordination with the US in the air campaign against Houthis.
Separately, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Friday that Saudi Arabia felt it necessary to intervene in Yemen to avoid Iranian-backed rebels taking over the country along its southern border.
“The Saudis are very exercised by the idea of an Iranian-backed regime in Yemen,” he said during a visit to Washington. “They cannot accept the idea of an Iranian-backed regime in control of Yemen, which is why they felt compelled to intervene the way they have.”
He added: “We know there has been Iranian support for the Houthi and we are all concerned to avoid this becoming a proxy war.”
Saudi and Egyptian warships deployed Friday to the Bab Al-Mandab strait off Yemen to secure the strategic sea passage, Egyptian military officials said. A top priority after the air campaign has weakened the rebels is for coalition troops — likely Egyptians — to move into the southern port city of Aden, Yemeni and Egyptian military officials said. Hadi arrived in Egypt Friday, where Arab leaders will be meeting to discuss the crisis.
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 said speaking to Al-Arabiya. He said Egyptian naval forces are heading to Bab Al-Mandab. Several Egyptian military officials said 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.
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.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies presented powerful members of the UN Security Council with suggested elements for a resolution that would impose an arms embargo on the Houthi rebels.
Diplomats said after a meeting Thursday evening with ambassadors from the US, Britain and France that members of the Gulf Coordination Council want the resolution to be militarily enforceable under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.
The GCC members also presented the Security Council president with a letter explaining that their airstrikes targeting military installations held by the Houthi rebels are in response to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s request this week for immediate aid as the rebels closed in.
The Gulf members also suggested that more members of the Houthis face financial sanctions.
There was a flurry of activity in
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