BICOM

Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes aimed at pushing back Houthi rebels in Yemen Thursday morning. The airstrikes follow an alliance of Sunni Arab nations announcing their plans to intervene in the country yesterday. The rule of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi has been under threat in recent weeks with the advance of Houthi rebels, acting with the backing of Iran. The president had fled the capital Sanna to the port city of Aden, and his current whereabouts are now unclear.

Saudi’s ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir, gave a press conference yesterday in which he said: “Based on the appeal from President Hadi, and based on the kingdom’s responsibility to Yemen and its people, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along with its allies within the GCC and outside the GCC, launched military operations in support of the people of Yemen and their legitimate government.”

Meanwhile, the Saudi owned Al Arabiya news agency reported that Saudi Arabia had mobilised 150,000 troops, with Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan and Sudan ready to provide troops, and planes from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain ready to take part. Of the Gulf Cooperation Countries – widely seen as an alliance designed to counter Iranian regional influence – only Oman was omitted.

The White House announced that it was providing “logistical and intelligence support”, but was not participating directly in military action. Until recently, US special forces were active in Yemen to combat Sunni extremists affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Yemen, an extremely poor and divided country, is strategically significant due to its border with oil-rich Saudi Arabia, and its position overlooking the narrow Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea, vital for Gulf oil shipping. Both Israel and Sunni Arab states have been warning recently of growing Iranian influence across the region, including in Yemen.