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Tuesday, April 21, 2015 4:28:51 PM
Bombing campaign against rebels in Yemen is over, Saudis say
A Saudi soldier sits on top of an armored vehicle, aiming his weapon toward the border with Yemen,
at a military point in Najran, Saudi Arabia, on April 21. (Hasan Jamali / Associated Press)
By Times staff and wire reports
April 21 2015 | 12:20 PM
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition targeting rebels in Yemen said Tuesday that its Decisive Storm airstrike campaign is over but that the allies will launch a new phase aimed at preventing the rebels from operating.
The coalition command in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, said the air campaign was concluded "in response to the request" of Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. It said the next phase would be known as Operation Restore Hope, according to the Saudi Press Agency. It did not describe the new operation.
Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said the objectives of the Decisive Storm campaign have been met and that it would cease at midnight local time.
He said the Houthis, a Shiite Muslim rebel group, no longer pose a danger to civilians and that the new phase would focus on rebuilding the country while interdicting the rebels.
However, Asiri did not rule out future airstrikes against the rebels.
The Obama administration, concerned over reports of numerous civilian casualties, had for several days been seeking to persuade Saudi Arabia to limit the scope of the airstrikes on cities and towns in Yemen.
Warplanes with the Saudi-led regional coalition began the bombing campaign on March 26 in an effort to stop the advance of the Houthis, to protect the kingdom’s southern border and to return Hadi to power. The U.S. provided crucial support for the effort, including intelligence, air refueling operations and weapons deliveries.
But senior U.S. officials were not enthusiastic about the Saudi war plan and were worried about Yemen’s Al Qaeda affiliate expanding its influence amid the chaos. They wanted the Saudis and their allies to curtail the airstrikes and to focus on protecting the Saudi border, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing internal deliberations.
At the same time, the Pentagon this week moved the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and a guided-missile destroyer into waters off Yemen in part to deter Iran from shipping weapons to the Houthi rebels. In all, nine U.S. warships are patrolling near strategic shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest would not comment Monday on the movement of the carrier, but said the administration is increasingly alarmed about Iran arming the Houthis and the growing humanitarian crisis.
“We have seen evidence that the Iranians are supplying weapons and other forms of support to the Houthis in Yemen,” he said. “That support will only contribute to greater violence in that country.”
Iran has denied providing weapons for the rebels.
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-saudi-yemen-20150421-story.html
A Saudi soldier sits on top of an armored vehicle, aiming his weapon toward the border with Yemen,
at a military point in Najran, Saudi Arabia, on April 21. (Hasan Jamali / Associated Press)
By Times staff and wire reports
April 21 2015 | 12:20 PM
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition targeting rebels in Yemen said Tuesday that its Decisive Storm airstrike campaign is over but that the allies will launch a new phase aimed at preventing the rebels from operating.
The coalition command in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, said the air campaign was concluded "in response to the request" of Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. It said the next phase would be known as Operation Restore Hope, according to the Saudi Press Agency. It did not describe the new operation.
Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said the objectives of the Decisive Storm campaign have been met and that it would cease at midnight local time.
He said the Houthis, a Shiite Muslim rebel group, no longer pose a danger to civilians and that the new phase would focus on rebuilding the country while interdicting the rebels.
However, Asiri did not rule out future airstrikes against the rebels.
The Obama administration, concerned over reports of numerous civilian casualties, had for several days been seeking to persuade Saudi Arabia to limit the scope of the airstrikes on cities and towns in Yemen.
Warplanes with the Saudi-led regional coalition began the bombing campaign on March 26 in an effort to stop the advance of the Houthis, to protect the kingdom’s southern border and to return Hadi to power. The U.S. provided crucial support for the effort, including intelligence, air refueling operations and weapons deliveries.
But senior U.S. officials were not enthusiastic about the Saudi war plan and were worried about Yemen’s Al Qaeda affiliate expanding its influence amid the chaos. They wanted the Saudis and their allies to curtail the airstrikes and to focus on protecting the Saudi border, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing internal deliberations.
At the same time, the Pentagon this week moved the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and a guided-missile destroyer into waters off Yemen in part to deter Iran from shipping weapons to the Houthi rebels. In all, nine U.S. warships are patrolling near strategic shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest would not comment Monday on the movement of the carrier, but said the administration is increasingly alarmed about Iran arming the Houthis and the growing humanitarian crisis.
“We have seen evidence that the Iranians are supplying weapons and other forms of support to the Houthis in Yemen,” he said. “That support will only contribute to greater violence in that country.”
Iran has denied providing weapons for the rebels.
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-saudi-yemen-20150421-story.html
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