(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) 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 Al-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.
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