Saudi-led coalition vows 'harsh' response against Yemen's rebels
Coalition forces say they will respond 'harshly' against Yemen's Houthi rebels following attacks on Saudi border town earlier in the week.
2 min read
Aden is the scene of heavy fighting (Getty)
Saudi-led coalition warplanes have begun targeting the border Yemeni province of Sadah, a stronghold of the Houthi movement, after Riyadh promised "harsh" punishment for deadly cross-border attacks, hours after proposing a humanitarian ceasefire.
The whole of Sadah, which has already been bombed repeatedly since the start of coalition airstrikes on March 26, was declared a military target by the coalition spokesman, effective from 7 pm local time.
The raids targeted control centres, a communication complex and a landmine factory and other rebel positions, state media in Riyadh said on Friday.
13 people, including women and children, were said to have been killed when a village in the northern Hajja province was bombed, according to the Houthi-controlled Yemeni state news agency Saba.
In Aden, in the south of the country, fighting continues between local resistance fighters on one hand, and the Houthis on the other, along with allied army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Aden's health authority chief al-Khader Laswar said that three civilians and three local fighters were killed in ground skirmishes. A military official close to the Houthi-Saleh forces said that 12 of their men had been killed in air raids.
Saudi Arabia, which is bombing Yemen ostensibly in support of exiled Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, warned the Houthis that they had crossed a "red line" by shelling populated areas such as Najran on the Saudi-Yemeni border.
"The equation is different, the confrontation is different, and they will pay a harsh and expensive price," said coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri.
"The safety of Saudi Arabia is a top priority for the coalition and the Saudi armed forces. It is a red line they crossed."
This came just hours after hopes for a ceasefire were raised, following US secretary of state John Kerry's visit to Riyadh, where he urged the Houthis to accept the offer of a five-day renewable ceasefire.
The UN, which has said that more than 1,400 people have been killed in the conflict in Yemen, renewed its plea for a ceasefire, as new UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed visited Riyadh in an effort to relaunch stalled peace talks.
The whole of Sadah, which has already been bombed repeatedly since the start of coalition airstrikes on March 26, was declared a military target by the coalition spokesman, effective from 7 pm local time.
The raids targeted control centres, a communication complex and a landmine factory and other rebel positions, state media in Riyadh said on Friday.
13 people, including women and children, were said to have been killed when a village in the northern Hajja province was bombed, according to the Houthi-controlled Yemeni state news agency Saba.
In Aden, in the south of the country, fighting continues between local resistance fighters on one hand, and the Houthis on the other, along with allied army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Aden's health authority chief al-Khader Laswar said that three civilians and three local fighters were killed in ground skirmishes. A military official close to the Houthi-Saleh forces said that 12 of their men had been killed in air raids.
Saudi Arabia, which is bombing Yemen ostensibly in support of exiled Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, warned the Houthis that they had crossed a "red line" by shelling populated areas such as Najran on the Saudi-Yemeni border.
"The equation is different, the confrontation is different, and they will pay a harsh and expensive price," said coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri.
"The safety of Saudi Arabia is a top priority for the coalition and the Saudi armed forces. It is a red line they crossed."
This came just hours after hopes for a ceasefire were raised, following US secretary of state John Kerry's visit to Riyadh, where he urged the Houthis to accept the offer of a five-day renewable ceasefire.
The UN, which has said that more than 1,400 people have been killed in the conflict in Yemen, renewed its plea for a ceasefire, as new UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed visited Riyadh in an effort to relaunch stalled peace talks.
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