Saudi Yemen bombings renewed hours after due to end

President Hadi and John Kerry

Just two hours after operation "Decisive Storm", the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen, was supposedly ended, there were renewed airstrikes on a number of targets. The operation had supposedly met its goal although the goal was originally to restore President Hadi to power and defeat the Houthi rebels. The bombings lasted nearly a month and was to be replaced by a new operation called "Renewal of Hope" and is aimed to protect civilians and combat "terrorism". The Houthi rebels are far from defeated, indeed they have seized more territory since the bombing. Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula also has seized more territory including Mukalla the capital of Hardramawt province. They have also seized huge amounts of weapons from the former Yemen government stores. The bombings lasted almost a month and in many cases resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties.

Thousands of  Houthi fighters and their supporters took to the streets of the capital Sanaa on Wednesday protesting against the bombings.They were protesting what they claimed was the shelling of residential areas. After "Decisive Storm" was supposedly ended targets in both the city of Taiz and Aden were bombed. In Taiz the Houthis had captured the headquarters of a brigade loyal to the Hadi government. Most officials of the Hadi government including Hadi himself  fled the conflict some time ago to the safety of the Saudi capital Riyadh. The Houthis are mounting a new offensive on Aden from three sides.

The Houthi rebels are supported by Iran. Iran tried to discourage the Houthis from taking the capital last September. Iran wanted a political solution in which a government would be formed agreeable to the Houthis. There were attempts to broker such a government but they never worked out. President Hadi resigned as a result and was held under virtual house arrest but managed to escape to Aden where he rescinded his resignation and declared himself the legitimate president. However, attacks against him in Aden led him to flee the country to Ryadh the capital of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi bombing campaign certainly destroyed a great deal of  Houthi weaponry but also wreaked havoc in the urban areas where many of the bombings took place. The US apparently urged the Saudis to end the campaign because of its negative effects. None of the bombings were directed against AQAP who have used the chaos to extend their control often in alliance with local Sunni tribes. A Saudi prince has promised a free Bentley to up to 100 pilots involved in the Yemen strikes. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal,  has a $300 million investment in Twitter where he made the pledge. However, the tweet has since been deleted!

On Wednesday, the Houthis had asked for "Decisive Storm" to end and for UN-brokered peace talks, in spite of the fact that the UN negotiations failed before. The UN is hardly a neutral party since it has passed sanctions against two Houthi leaders, and former ex-president Saleh, their ally, as well as imposing an embargo on arms shipments to them. But then the US mediates between Palestine and Israel and it is hardly neutral either. Iran too is in favor of negotiations and a peace deal. Former president Saleh also urged that all sides should "return to dialogue to solve and treat all the issues". In a gesture of goodwill the Houthis released the Hadi defense minister, the brother of president Hadi, and a military commander all of whom had been help captive for nearly a month.

Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/fighting-fresh-air-strikes-mark-phase-yemen-150423001409834.html
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/iran-vows-saudi-led-air-strikes-yemen-rebels-150415142527136.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3050739/Saudi-prince-pledges-free-Bentley-pilot-involved-Yemen-air-strikes-claimed-1-000-lives.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/20/carrier-intercepts-iranian-arms/26082755/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32411311
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/saudi-led-coalition-begins-phase-yemen-campaign-150421155500641.html

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