After this, Saudi Arabia declared war, vowing to reinstall Hadi as a “rightful” president. Iran opposed the intervention.
Advertisement
In the latest bloodshed, Saudi-led warplanes killed 21 people Tuesday, including civilians, in a raid targeting Huthis in the Sabeen neighbourhood of Sanaa, a medical official said.
On June 16, Al Qaeda confirmed its chief in Yemen, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, was killed in a drone strike, and named military chief Qassem al-Rimi as the regional affiliate’s new leader. However, the airstrikes have killed dozens of civilians while hitting hard on the Houthi rebel group. The attacks came nearly three months after Islamic State extremists carried out multiple bombings against Shia mosques in the capital, killing 142.
With Aden and some of the surrounding coast recaptured, pro-Saudi forces have declared Aden the temporary capital and are setting it up as a seat of their government. With the airport and port back in loyalist hands, the coalition is able to ship in growing amounts of humanitarian aid.
The coalition expanded its military campaign into a ground operation in July, but the rebels still control much of north and central Yemen.
Since then, the Houthis have lost five southern provinces to Hadi loyalists, who are now waging a major offensive in oil-rich Marib province east of the capital.
Asiri said the Houthis were responsible for the soldiers’ lives and called on the rebels to respect the Geneva Convention.
Thousands of heavily equipped Arab soldiers from the Gulf have been sent to Yemen, notably from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
In July, Hadi said “Aden will be the key to Yemen’s salvation”, in a televised address marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The Arab coalition launched an air war against the Shiite rebels in March, when the advancing insurgents forced President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
Advertisement
The United Nations last week announced peace talks in the region, but Hadi’s administration said it demanded the Houthis first publicly accept a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on the group to quit cities it seized since previous year and allow the government to return to Sanaa.
