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OBAMA BACKS SAUDI ACTION

Air strikes hit Houthi military convoy in Yemen

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2015

Saudi-led air forces attacked a convoy of Houthi armoured vehicles, tanks and military trucks travelling on the coastal road from the Arabian Sea town of Shaqra towards Aden in southern Yemen, residents said.

The Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim Houthi rebels on Friday opened a new front in their drive to topple Western and Saudi-allied President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, capturing Shaqra in preparation to march on Aden from the east.

Residents said war planes from the Saudi-led coalition struck the convoy early on Saturday on the al-Mukalla-Aden road, hitting a number of vehicles.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the strike and no details on any casualties were available.

Saudi-led forces began operations against the Houthis on Thursday after its forces closed in on Aden and appeared poised to capture it. The air strikes have bolstered local militias defending the city but had not blunted the offensive completely.

In another development, US President Barack Obama spoke with Saudi King Salman on Friday and reaffirmed Obama's support for the military action taken in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies, the White House said in a statement.

Obama and King Salman agreed that their goal is to achieve lasting stability in Yemen through a negotiated political solution, the statement said. Obama also underscored his commitment to Saudi Arabia's security.

The Saudi-led military campaign has also won the support from leading tribes in Yemen's main oil producing province of Marib.

A joint statement by several tribes including the Morad and Abidah said: "The tribes of Marib announce their support for Operation Decisive Storm under the leadership of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries to end the rebellion aginst the constitutional legitimacy and take back the Yemeni state."

Yemeni oil flows through the Marib pipeline, its main export route, at a rate of around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd). The well-armed tribes are the de facto authority in the central province.

Meanwhile, war planes continued attacking Yemen's capital Sanaa through the night on Friday and stopped around dawn, residents of the city told Reuters on Saturday.

"There were planes strikes all through the night and stopped at dawn," said a resident in Sanaa, adding that explosions were heard in an area west of the capital where a government national guard base was located.

There was no detail on whether the planes belonged to the Saudi-led coalition which launched attacks against Yemen's Shiite Houthi group on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the state news agency said two Saudi pilots had ejected over the Red Sea on Friday after their fighter plane suffered a technical problem and were later rescued with US assistance.

"A plane of the F-15S type was stricken by a technical fault yesterday evening over the Red Sea and the two pilots were forced to use their rescue seats," SPA quoted a defence ministry official saying.

A US defence official had earlier on Friday said that the US military rescued the two Saudi pilots in international waters by a helicopter from Djibouti after Saudi Arabia requested assistance.-Reuters




Tags: yemen | Obama | Saudi King |

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