Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen
early Friday, one day after the U.S.-backed Yemeni president was driven
out of the country.
President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and
intelligence support to the military operations, National Security
Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said late Wednesday night. She
added that while U.S. forces were not taking direct military action in
Yemen, Washington was establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi
Arabia to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support.
Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir said the operations began at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
He said the Houthis, widely believed to be backed by Iran, "have
always chosen the path of violence." He declined to say whether the
Saudi campaign involved U.S. intelligence assistance.
Al-Jubeir made the announcement at a rare news conference by the Sunni kingdom.
He said the Saudis "will do anything necessary" to protect the people of Yemen and "the legitimate government of Yemen."
A Yemeni official earlier Wednesday would not say where Yemeni
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled to, but did tell Fox News: “He is
safe. That's all I can say at this point.”
Hadi's departure marks a dramatic turn in Yemen's turmoil and means a
decisive collapse of what was left of his rule, which the United States
and Gulf allies had hoped could stabilize the chronically chaotic
nation and fight Al Qaeda's branch here after the 2011 ouster of
longtime autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Over the past year, the Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are
believed to be supported by Iran, have battled their way out of their
northern strongholds, overwhelmed the capital, Sanaa, seized province
after province in the north and worked their way south. Their advance
has been boosted by units of the military and security forces that
remained loyal to Saleh, who allied with the rebels.
With Hadi gone, there remains resistance to the Houthis scattered
around the country, whether from Sunni tribesmen, local militias,
pro-Hadi military units or Al Qaeda fighters.
Hadi and his aides left Aden after 3:30 p.m. on two boats, security
and port officials told The Associated Press. He is scheduled to attend
an Arab summit in Egypt on the weekend, where Arab allies are scheduled
to discuss formation of a joint Arab force that could pave the way for
military intervention against Houthis.
His flight came after Houthis and Saleh loyalists advanced against
Hadi's allies on multiple fronts. Military officials said militias and
military units loyal to Hadi had "fragmented," speeding the rebel
advance. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to speak to reporters
Earlier in the day, the rebels seized a key air base where U.S.
troops and Europeans had advised the country in its fight against Al
Qaeda militants. The base is only 60 kilometers (35 miles) away from
Aden.
In the province of Lahj, adjoining Aden, the rebels captured Hadi's
defense minister, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud al-Subaihi, and his top aide on
Wednesday and subsequently transferred them to the capital, Sanaa.
Yemen's state TV, controlled by the Houthis, announced a bounty of
nearly $100,000 for Hadi's capture.
Hadi then fled his presidential palace, and soon after warplanes
targeted presidential forces guarding it. No casualties were reported.
By midday, Aden's airport fell into hands of Saleh's forces after
intense clashes with pro-Hadi militias.
Aden was tense Wednesday, with schools, government offices, shops and
restaurants largely closed. Inside the few remaining opened cafes, men
watched the news on television. With the fall of the city appearing
imminent, looters went through two abandoned army camps, one in Aden and
the other nearby, taking weapons and ammunition.
The takeover of Aden, the country's economic hub, would mark the
collapse of what is left of Hadi's grip on power. After the Houthis
overran Sanaa in September, he had remained in office, but then was put
under house arrest. He fled the capital earlier in March with remnants
of his government and declared Aden his temporarty capital.
Yemen's Foreign Minister Riad Yassin told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV
satellite news network that he officially made a request to the Arab
League on Wednesday to send a military force to intervene against the
Houthis. Depicting the Houthis as a proxy of Shiite Iran, a rival to
Sunni Gulf countries, he warned of an Iranian "takeover" of Yemen. The
Houthis deny they are backed by Iran.
Mohammed Abdel-Salam, a spokesman for the Houthis, said their forces
were not aiming to "occupy" the south. "They will be in Aden in few
hours," Abdel-Salam told the rebels' satellite Al-Masirah news channel.
Earlier, Al-Masirah reported that the Houthis and allied fighters had
"secured" the al-Annad air base, the country's largest. It claimed the
base had been looted by both Al Qaeda fighters and troops loyal to Hadi.
The U.S. recently evacuated some 100 soldiers, including Special
Forces commandos, from the base after Al Qaeda briefly seized a nearby
city. Britain also evacuated soldiers.
The base was crucial in the U.S. drone campaign against Al Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington considers to be the most
dangerous offshoot of the terror group. And American and European
military advisers there also assisted Hadi's government in its fight
against Al Qaeda's branch, which holds territory in eastern Yemen and
has claimed the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in
Paris.
U.S. operations against the militants have been scaled back
dramatically amid Yemen's chaos. U.S. officials have said CIA drone
strikes will continue in the country, though there will be fewer of
them. The agency's ability to collect intelligence on the ground in
Yemen, while not completely gone, is also much diminished.
The Houthis, in the aftermath of massive suicide bombings in Sanaa
last week that killed at least 137 people, ordered a general
mobilization and their leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, vowed to send his
forces to the south to fight Al Qaeda and militant groups.
In Sanaa, dozens of coffins were lined up for a mass funeral of the
victims Wednesday. Among the victims was a top Shiite cleric. Yemen's
Islamic State-linked militants have claimed responsibility for the
attack.
The Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in September and have since
been advancing south along with Saleh's loyalists. On Tuesday, they
fired bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in the
city of Taiz, known as the gateway to southern Yemen. Six demonstrators
were killed and scores more were wounded, officials said.
The Houthis also battled militias loyal to Hadi in the city of
al-Dhalea, adjacent to Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city. Taiz is also
the birthplace of its 2011 Arab Spring-inspired uprising that forced
Saleh to hand over power to Hadi in a deal brokered by the U.N. and Gulf
countries.
Hadi on Tuesday asked the U.N. Security Council to authorize a
military intervention "to protect Yemen and to deter the Houthi
aggression" in Aden and the rest of the south. In his letter, Hadi said
he also has asked members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and
the Arab League for immediate help.
Saudi Arabia warned that "if the Houthi coup does not end peacefully,
we will take the necessary measures for this crisis to protect the
region."