Yemen crisis: Civilian toll mounts from Saudi airstrikes
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Saudi-led airstrikes hit Houthi rebel targets across Yemen Wednesday, including a dairy factory in the west where dozens of civilians were killed. As聽 the bombings enter their seventh day, concerns are rising that the conflict will continue to escalate and seep beyond Yemen鈥檚 borders.
The airstrikes targeted rebel-controlled army camps in the port city of Hodeida as well as warehouses belonging to a dairy factory that allegedly were , reports The Associated Press.
Shiite Houthi rebels took over Yemen鈥檚 capital, Sanaa, last year, ultimately forcing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to the southern port city of Aden. Last week, he fled Yemen鈥檚 second largest city for Saudi Arabia. Yemen鈥檚 transport minister said this week that President Hadi was preparing to form a government in exile in Riyadh until security is restored in Yemen, which he expects to happen 鈥渟oon.鈥�
Saudi Arabia is leading a 10-member coalition of majority Sunni Arab nations that seek to reinstate Hadi and defeat the Houthis, member of the Zaydi, or Fiver, Shiite sect and that Saudi Arabia charges are backed by Iran. Tehran denies providing military support to Houthis.
The Washington Post reports that in targeting more than military bases and rebel supply lines, the coalition is signaling it鈥檚 . This could cause civilian death tolls to spike.
The New York Time鈥檚 reports that there are few signs that the favor of either side of the fight, 鈥渞aising fears of a lengthy war that is expanding the destabilizing regional conflict between the Persian Gulf monarchies and Iran."
With Yemen under blockade from air and sea by the Saudi-led coalition, aid agencies intensified their warnings on Tuesday about the toll on civilians and hospitals, which are running critically low on medical supplies.
鈥淭he situation in Yemen is extremely alarming, with dozens of civilians killed over the past four days,鈥� [UN human rights chief Zeid Ra鈥檃d al-Hussein] said in a statement. 鈥淭he country seems to be on the verge of total collapse.鈥濃��
Some hospitals have been bombed, as have private homes; schools; and civilian airports and power stations in the capital, Sana, and the cities of Saada and Al Hudaydah, the United Nations said, highlighting fears of the havoc that would result from a threatened ground invasion by Saudi forces and those of other nations.
Saudi Arabia blames rebels for moving into residential areas in attempts to avoid being hit by airstrikes for the uptick in civilian casualties, The Washington Post reports.
鈥淭hey are inside the villages and towns as part of their strategy,鈥� Saudi Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asseri said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Tuesday that Yemen鈥檚 security was 鈥減art and parcel鈥� of his kingdom鈥檚 security, and that of the rest of the Arab world. While it has amassed ground troops along its southern border with Yemen, there are no immediate plans to move in, officials say.
"The conclusion that no one will come to their rescue if Iran manages to have a foothold in Yemen, (and) establish a kind of Yemeni Hezbollah... to practice coercive diplomacy with Riyadh," Hassan Barari, professor of international relations at Qatar University, told Agence France-Presse.
Meanwhile, Iran鈥檚 deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, petitioned the United Nations to do airstrikes in Yemen, Reuters reports.
"The military path in Yemen is doomed to failure. National dialogue without external meddling is the only political solution," Mr. Abdollahian told IRNA news.
Iran and Saudi Arabia support opposing sides in other regional conflicts, including in Syria and Lebanon, Reuters reports.
