The new air strikes launched against Houthi rebels in Yemen threaten to complicate the new U.S. government’s stance on the region.
The Saudi-led coalition reportedly launched a new series of air strikes at Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa, currently held by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
It was the first time in months that Sanaa was bombed by Saudi warplanes, an escalation that comes as the kingdom grapples with a major increase in cross-border strikes on its own infrastructure, including an attack on a major offshore oil loading facility late Sunday (March 7).
Residents in Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-held capital, reported hearing huge explosions as a round of bombs fell on the city on Sunday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
“The targeting of civilians and civilian facilities is a red line,” Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition, was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The Houthi-run al-Masirah satellite TV channel reported at least seven airstrikes on the Sanaa districts of Attan and al-Nahda. Al-Masirah did not identify the stricken facilities, but back smoke was seen rising over military camps in the area.
The wave of Saudi bombings on Houthi rebel sites represents the first since President Joe Biden’s long-awaited announcement last month that he was ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including some arms sales to the country.
In announcing its new air campaign, the coalition claimed the Houthi attacks have been encouraged by a Biden administration decision to remove them form the U.S.’s terror list.
The designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization was announced in the waning days of former President Donald Trump’s administration, and prompted widespread outcry from the United Nations and humanitarian groups working in Yemen.
In recent months, Houthi rebels have targeted oil installations in Saudi Arabia, causing concerns on the world supply of crude oil and Saudi Arabia’s capability to defend its assets against the rebels.
Since 2013, the war in Yemen has killed more than 130,000, including 12,000 civilians, and has pushed millions more on the brink of destitute due to the disruption of Yemen’s economy. (ONT/With reports from AP)