(MENAFN- Arab Times) SANAA March 26 (Agencies): The air base Al-Dailimi located in the Yemeni capital Sanaa was repeatedly struck by military aircraft of the GCC-Arab alliance and navigation via the air facility has stopped a military source said on Thursday. The source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the airport has become practically 'paralyzed' following a series of air strikes that also damaged a number of planes the tarmac anti-aircraft batteries and rocket launchers. Authorities announced stoppage of aviation via Sanaa International Airport adding that the activities stopped due to deteriorating security in the Capital.
Meanwhile the ancient city Sanaa looked like a ghost city with daily living largely coming to a halt. All schools businesses and various facilities were shut today. Earlier Saudi military planes struck Houthi militia's strongholds and arms depots in Sanaa and headquarters of the reserve forces south of the city according to the BBC. The bombing targeted the joint air force command in Sanaa Rima Hemayed military base in Senhan stronghold of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh south of Sanaa and Al-And air base north of Aden.
Up to 30 UAE aircraft have landed on Saudi territories to take part in the strikes commanded by Riyadh. Kuwait is contributing with 15 fighter jets Bahrain 15 and Jordan six. Egypt Pakistan and Sudan are taking part in the military operation with gunboats and aircraft. Saudi Arabia is reportedly deploying up 100 warplanes in the fight. It has mobilized 150000 troops and personnel from the army and the navy for the purpose. Meanwhile forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi have retaken the International Aden Airport driving Houthi militiamen out of the key air facility Yemeni sources said on Thursday.
Forces loyal to Hadi have retaken the International Aden Airport driving Houthi militiamen out of the key air facility Yemeni sources said on Thursday. The Yemeni security sources quoted by the media said the pro-president armed popular committees have retaken control of the airport hours after the Houthi militias backed by forces loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh seized it. The sources said the combat for control of the airport lasted for hours and that the fighting inflicted casualties. The skies are in control of military aircraft of the Gulf- Arab alliance forces commanded by Saudi Arabia warplanes of which bombed Houthi strongholds in near Sanaa. The allied operation targets Houthi strongholds in Sanaa Saada and Lahj.
Meanwhile Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah expressed here Kuwait's support to legitimacy in Yemen represented in President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Speaking at the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in the Egyptian Red Sea Resort Sharm El-Sheikh the Kuwait top diplomat also called for the implementation of the relevant UN and Gulf resolutions.
A Saudi-led coalition of more than ten countries started military operation to protect Yemeni people and the legitimate government from the Houthis' advance. The operation was carried out on the request of the Yemeni government. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said: 'The serious and escalating developments in Yemen compel everyone to move immediately and take necessary precautions in order to restore security and stability in this brotherly country.' Blaming Houthi militias for using violence and undermining the State he said fast-track moves and measures should be taken in line with UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions based on the Gulf Initiative on Yemen and the findings of the National Dialogue.
In this context Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled stressed the necessity of supporting Yemen's constitutional legitimacy and responding to Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi by means of providing immediate Arab and international support to protect Yemen and its people and to safeguard its sovereignty and independence in face of threats and aggressions by Houthi militias on the soil of Saudi Arabia. 'Such threats and aggressions pose a threat to Gulf and Arab national security in line with the GCC Joint Defense Agreement the Arab League's Charter and the Arab Joint Defense Treaty' he added. He also pointed to Article 51 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter which gives countries to defend themselves and to take all required measures in order to protect international peace and security. 'While the State of Kuwait declares its full support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its self-defense right it urges all parties involved to immediately comply with UNSC resolutions the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism and to stick to the outcomes of the national dialogue' he affirmed.
The Kuwaiti minister also called on all Yemeni parties to respond to the call for a conference on Yemen which Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced readiness to host under the umbrella of the GCC with a view to preventing Yemen from sliding into further chaos and destruction. Kuwait is taking all measures and making all arrangements to fulfill its commitments for maintaining security and stability in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states the cabinet stressed on Thursday.
The stance has been prompted by the hazardous repercussions of latest events in Yemen and is based on provisions of the UN and the Arab League Charters and the GCC Joint Defense Agreement Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah said in a press statement today. Security of the GCC is indivisible and is the responsibility of all members he noted. The cabinet followed with deep worry and pain the perilous developments in Yemen which took toll on the country's security and stability due to the coup against legitimacy Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah said. All peaceful channels to dissolve the crisis in Yemen were exhausted and aggressions and threats to Saudi Arabia and other GCC members followed Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah said. Such grave consequences came to pose a threat to the region's security and stability.
The cabinet meanwhile urged all concerned parties in Yemen to work on an immediate implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism as well as commitment to the outcome of the National Dialogue so that the country would not 'slide into more chaos and devastation.' The region cannot stand more tension or exposure of its peoples to more bloodshed or destruction the cabinet stressed urging all regional parties to seriously engage in efforts to support peace and stability. All have to be aware of the peril of pushing the region toward more escalation the cabinet warned. It also hoped that efforts would be directed for more development to realize peace security and prosperity for the region's peoples Sheikh Mohammad Abdulla said. Kuwait is taking all measures and making all arrangements to fulfill its commitments for maintaining security and stability in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states the cabinet stressed on Thursday.
Prompted
The stance has been prompted by the hazardous repercussions of latest events in Yemen and is based on provisions of the UN and the Arab League Charters and the GCC Joint Defense Agreement Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah said in a press statement today. Security of the GCC is indivisible and is the responsibility of all members he noted.
The cabinet followed with deep worry and pain the perilous developments in Yemen which took toll on the country's security and stability due to the coup against legitimacy Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah said. All peaceful channels to dissolve the crisis in Yemen were exhausted and aggressions and threats to Saudi Arabia and other GCC members followed Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah said. Such grave consequences came to pose a threat to the region's security and stability.
The cabinet meanwhile urged all concerned parties in Yemen to work on an immediate implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the GCC Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism as well as commitment to the outcome of the National Dialogue so that the country would not 'slide into more chaos and devastation.' The region cannot stand more tension or exposure of its peoples to more bloodshed or destruction the cabinet stressed urging all regional parties to seriously engage in efforts to support peace and stability. All have to be aware of the peril of pushing the region toward more escalation the cabinet warned. It also hoped that efforts would be directed for more development to realize peace security and prosperity for the region's peoples Sheikh Mohammad Abdulla said. In Kuwait nationwide security and people's safety in line with the home front plan were the focus of a Thursday meeting for the state's top security officials chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
The meeting mainly discussed arrangements for the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria Kuwait hosts on 30-31 March under auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah as well as the potential repercussions of the military operation on Yemen. It was attended by the Interior Ministry's Undersecretary Lieutenant General Sulaiman Al-Fahad; Acting National Guard Undersecretary Major General Hashem Al-Refai and Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Intelligence and Security Major General Abdulrahman Al- Hadhoud. Commanders of the three authorities the Interior Ministry the National Guard and the Ministry of Defense also attended the meeting. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled was briefed in detail on the Interior Ministry's security plan for the conference. He stressed commitment by the security sectors for implementing the set schemes according to the home front plan 'to assure the people and in the meantime to conserve the country's safety.' Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled was also briefed on the coordination among the three security authorities on securing the home front in light of the Decisive Strom operation on Yemen. Arrangements and reinforcements were made for fortifying the home front and plans have been ready to be carried out by the three security bodies Undersecretary Lieutenant General Sulaiman Al-Fahad stressed. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has taken precautionary measures to protect the strategic interests of the Kuwaiti petroleum sector and secure oil supplies for local and international markets said KPC's Acting Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Al-Farhoud on Thursday.
The precautions include the application of industrial safety measures and beefing up security around oil installations in Kuwait and abroad Al-Farhoud told KUNA in a statement. KPC has coordinated with all its subsidiaries to take all nessary measures to raise preparedness for any emergency he added. Warplanes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies struck Shiite Muslim rebels fighting to oust Yemen's president on Thursday in a major gamble by the world's top oil exporter to check Iranian influence in its backyard without direct military backing from Washington. Iran denounced the surprise assault on its proteges in the Houthi militia group and made clear Saudi Arabia's deployment of a Sunni coalition against its Shiite enemies would complicate efforts to end a conflict that will only inflame the sectarian hatreds already fuelling wars around the Middle East.
Washington said it supported the operation and had authorized US logistical and intelligence support. US forces were not involved in direct military action in Yemen. France and Britain also backed the operation but the European Union said military action was not a solution. A Houthi leader said the air strikes would set off a 'wide war' in the region. Houthi-run al-Masirah television said the strikes had hit a residential neighbourhood north of Sanaa and caused dozens of casualties. Al-Masirah showed the body of a girl and several of the wounded including a weeping man who said the strikes had killed his son and destroyed his home. A widening Yemen conflict could pose risks for global oil supplies and oil prices surged more than 4 percent on Thursday. Yemen closed its main ports. But the US military said it would help ensure the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the tip of the Red Sea remains open.
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