(MENAFN- Arab Times) The Saudi-led "Operation Decisive Storm" continued to target Houthi militias and troops loyal to Yemen's ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, as more regional and international support was announced. Renewed air strikes were launched late Thursday targeting camps of the Special Forces and the Republican Guard Corps in Arhab district to the north of Sanaa, an air defense camp to west of Sanaa, and a number of Houthi camps in Sa'ada, Al-Hudaydah and Al-Dhale'.
The Saudi-led coalition launched the ongoing "Operation Decisive Storm" in response to the appeal of Yemen's legitimate President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi for Gulf and Arab countries to intervene militarily in order to save his country from Houthi militias and to restore its security and stability. However, Riyadh announced it has "no immediate plans" to launch ground operations in the crisis-hit country, but forces are ready if necessary, a military spokesman said. Speaking to reporters in Riyadh late Thursday, Saudi Brig Gen Ahmad Asiri said the "goals of phase I of the operations were achieved through air supremacy," citing the use of state-of-the-art air warplanes and logistics to destroy air defenses of Houthi militias, attack their airbases, destroy on-the-ground aircraft and ballistic missiles and silence their command and control centers.
He vowed that the coalition would press on with its campaign until goals are reached, and would not allow any "supplies" to reach the rebels and that no party would be allowed to back the Houthi rebellion. Saudi Arabia has deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units, the UAE contributed 30 fighter jets, Bahrain 15, Kuwaiti 15 and Qatar 10 in the operation.
To prove the successful attack, domestic and international flights to and from airports south Saudi Arabia resumed early Friday after a several-hour hiatus. Except for Abha airport, the air traffic resumed as scheduled in the southern region, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced. As a sign of growing support for Saudi Arabia and the military action, King Salman bin Abdulaziz had a series of phone calls with regional leaders, mainly His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Egyptian President Abdelfatah el-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
During their meeting in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Arab foreign ministers voiced total support for the Saudi-led "Operation Decisive Storm" against Houthi militias, which, they said, came as an immediate response to the appeal of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Backing and defending the military action, Secretary- General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Araby said the operation is based on the League's Charter and previous resolutions aiming to resolve the current situation in Yemen. "The military operation targeting specific Houthi targets in Yemen conforms with the Charter of the Arab League and its resolutions on the situation in Yemen." "It's also based on Article Two of the Joint Arab Defense Treaty," he said, adding that the operation came in response with the call of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who represents Yemen's legitimacy. Internationally, US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a conference call with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers, commended the work of the coalition taking military action against Houthi militias in Yemen.
He noted US support for those efforts, including intelligence sharing, targeting assistance and advisory and logistical support, the State Department announced. The European Union (EU) blamed Houthi actions for escalation in Yemen, with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini saying the latest events in Yemen have dramatically worsened the already fragile situation in the country and risk having serious regional consequences. She blasted in a statement the advance of Houthi forces and of military units loyal to ex-President Saleh towards Aden, as well as the aerial targeting of President Hadi's compound, as "unacceptable steps towards escalating an already polarized situation". She reiterated EU support to all efforts currently undertaken to address the situation, in particular those of the UN and of regional actors.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders has voiced support for the Saudi intervention in Yemen and said he is especially pleased that Middle East countries are taking action themselves, according to local media. "I believe it's a good thing that there is a regional military action. It's important that there is a strong reaction from the Gulf nations and not solely from the international community," he was quoted as saying. Reynders expressed comprehension for the Saudi intervention in Yemen, "they fear a terrorist presence on their own territory. They are also worried about the conflict spreading to Saudi Arabia or Oman," he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan contacted Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to reaffirm support for the Kingdom which is leading an operation against Houthi militias. Erdogan also voiced solidarity with Riyadh in an interview with French network France 24, saying his country is considering the possibility of providing logistical support to the ongoing military operation in Yemen. The Turkish support for the Saudi-led operation against Houthi targets in Yemen comes in response to the call made by Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has vowed "strong response" to any threat against Saudi Arabia, which is leading a regional coalition against the Houthi militia in Yemen, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's office said. Sharif chaired a "high-level meeting" in which he said Pakistan enjoyed close and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. "The meeting concluded that any threat to Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity would evoke a strong response from Pakistan," Sharif's office said. Pakistan would send a delegation, including military officials, to Saudi Arabia on Friday, the statement said.
Pakistan, which has longstanding ties with Saudi Arabia, was considering a request from Saudi Arabia for troops to send to Yemen, the foreign office said on Thursday. In latest development, Saudi and Egyptian warships deployed Friday to the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen to secure the strategic sea passage, Egyptian military officials said, as a Saudi-led coalition widened its strikes on the second day of an air campaign against Shiite rebels and their allies, aiming to pave the way for possible ground operations. 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, a main stronghold of supporters of Hadi, who was forced to leave the country as the rebels and their allies moved on the city, Yemeni and Egyptian military officials said. Hadi arrived in Egypt Friday, where Arab leaders will be meeting to discuss the crisis. That could prove a tough prospect.
On Friday, rebel fighters and their allies - military units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh - were moving through southern Abyan province toward Aden, aiming to reinforce their fighters already in the city, Yemeni security officials said. At the same time, pro-Hadi military units and militiamen were fighting rebel forces in street battles in several southern cities on Friday. The events Friday and the comments by the military officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, gave an initial picture of Saudi and Egyptian plans in the conflict that abruptly burst into a regional fight on Thursday after months of chaos within Yemen. Saudi Arabia and its allies are aiming to push back the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and Saleh's forces, which have taken over the capital Sanaa, and much of the mountainous, impoverished nation.
The ultimate goal is to restore Hadi, who was expected to arrive in Egypt on Friday for an Arab summit the following day. Saudi Arabia fears the Houthis will give Shiite powerhouse Iran a new foothold on its southern border. 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 told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel. He said Egyptian naval forces are heading to Bab al-Mandab. Several Egyptian military officials told the AP 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, leading from the Arabian Sea to its Suez Canal, a vital route for shipping between Europe and Asia. 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. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. The first salvo of airstrikes before dawn Thursday also killed 18 civilians - including six children - when they flattened a block of homes in an impoverished neighborhood near Sanaa's airport. Diminishing Saleh's forces is a key step before any ground action. Saleh, who ruled Yemen with an autocratic hand for decades, was removed in 2012 following an Arab Spring popular uprising against him, and Hadi was installed in his place. But Saleh remained in Yemen and maintained widespread influence, particular in the fragmented military and security forces. One Yemeni security official on Friday estimated that 70 percent of the military remained loyal to him, including many of the best trained and equipped units, and they are in bases around the country.
Their support for the Houthis has been crucial to the rebels' takeover. Airstrikes on Friday struck in at least six provinces. In the capital Sanaa, heavy airstrikes came in waves overnight, shaking the city as anti-aircraft guns fired. New strikes hit Saada, the northern stronghold of the Houthis, aiming at locations where rebel leader Abdul-Malek al- Houthi might be, the Yemeni military officials said. The grave of his brother Hussein al-Houthi, founder of the rebel group, was demolished in the strikes. The attacks prompted the Houthis to shut down schools and cancel classes indefinitely, according to a statement sent to reporters by the group. Saudi warplanes also bombed camps and bases of pro-Saleh army forces northeast of Sanaa and in the southern provinces of al-Dhale and Lahj. In the oil- and gas-rich north-central province of Marib, strikes targeted radar facilities.
Retired Yemeni army officer Nasser al- Marqashi said he expects the airstrikes to continue for a week to weaken the air defenses before a ground offensive, which would likely be launched from Aden or from the country's sparsely populated far eastern Hadramout province, where Hadi also has supporters. Houthis and the Saleh loyalists control at least 10 of Yemen's 21 provinces. But in many of those places, their hold is not complete, particularly in the south. In Dhamar and Taiz - two areas overrun by the rebels - thousands of demonstrators staged protests Friday in support of the Saudi airstrikes. In the southern city of al-Dhale - capital of the province of the same name - pro-Hadi militias were fighting Saleh's forces. Battles were also going on in the southern city of al-Houta, just north of Aden. There, part of the city is controlled by pro-Hadi militias, another part is controlled by al-Qaeda militants, and both were separately fighting Houthi and pro- Saleh forces trying to take the area, Yemeni security officials said.
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