Saudi pounds Yemen rebel camps, lashes out at Iran

Saudi pounds Yemen rebel camps, lashes out at Iran

• Shi`ite Muslim rebels hold up their weapons during a rally against air strikes in Sanaa March 26, 2015. AgenciesReuters

Arab coalition warplanes bombed rebel camps in Yemen on Friday in a second straight day of strikes led by Saudi Arabia, which accused Iran of “aggression” across the region.

A months-long rebellion by Shiite fighters has escalated into a regional conflict that threatens to tear apart the impoverished state at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to prevent the fall of its ally President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, accusing Shiite Iran of backing the Huthi rebels’ power grab.

At least 39 civilians have been killed in the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm against the Huthis, officials at the rebel-controlled health ministry in the capital said. Twelve died when surrounding residential areas were hit in a raid on a military base north of the city, the officials said.

Three dawn strikes Friday hit the presidential compound in south Sanaa which the rebels seized last month, witnesses said. Warplanes also bombed a Huthi-controlled army brigade in Amran province north of Sanaa, and arms depots in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada, residents said.

Hadi, backed by the West and Gulf Arab states, arrived in Riyadh yesterday with officials saying he was on his way to Egypt to join a two-day Arab League summit at the weekend. It was the first confirmation of Hadi’s whereabouts since the rebels began advancing this week on the main southern city of Aden, where he had taken refuge since fleeing Sanaa last month.

via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1HTVM4C