Egypt Saudi mull exercises as pressure builds on rebels
Date
8/7/2015 12:09:43 PM
(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Sanaa-
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are considering holding 'large-scale' military manoeuvres after launching airstrikes on Yemeni rebels who have been slapped with a UN arms embargo and sanctions.
In a possible sign the Saudi-led air campaign against the Shiite rebels may expand into a ground operation Cairo said it and Riyadh were mulling the exercises in Saudi Arabia with other Gulf countries participating.
'It was decided to form a joint military committee to look into a large-scale strategic manoeuvre on Saudi territory' Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sissi's office said late on Tuesday after he met the Saudi Defence Minister.
Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Arab countries launched the airstrikes on March 26 after the Iran-backed rebels seized the capital Sanaa last year and advanced on the main southern city of Aden where President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had taken refuge.
Hadi fled to Riyadh from Aden which has since seen heavy fighting between pro-and anti-government forces with overnight rebel attacks killing at least seven people.
Saudi Arabia has accused Tehran - the main Shiite power - of arming the rebels and the conflict has heightened tensions in the Middle East.
World powers united against the rebels on Tuesday with the UN Security Council voting to impose an arms embargo on the them and hitting their leaders with sanctions.
The UN resolution - the first formal action taken by the Security Council since the start of the Saudi-led raids - demands the Houthis withdraw from Sanaa and all other areas they have seized.
It slaps an arms embargo on Houthi leaders and their allies and puts chief Abdulmalik al Houthi and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh's eldest son Ahmed on a sanctions list imposing a global travel ban and an assets freeze on the two men.
The Houthis have allied with troops loyal to Saleh who was forced from power in 2012 following a year of nationwide protests against his three-decade rule.
Iran has denounced the Saudi intervention as 'criminal' and on Tuesday proposed a ceasefire followed by foreign-mediated talks to end the conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressing reporters in Madrid called on world powers to back Tehran's peace plan. 'I proposed a ceasefire followed by all-inclusive Yemeni dialogue that is facilitated by others' he said.
AFP