Yemeni Conflict: News

US State Department Announces Military Staff Pullout From Yemen

US State Department has announced that the United States is evacuating its entire military personnel from a key airbase in Yemen following an upsurge in violence in the conflict-torn country.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States is evacuating its entire military personnel from a key airbase in Yemen following an upsurge in violence in the conflict-torn country, the US State Department has announced.

"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the U.S. Government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a Saturday statement.

The State Department stressed that there is "no military solution to Yemen's current crisis" and called for an "immediate" cessation of armed hostilities in the country.

Earlier on Saturday, the UN Security Council announced a decision to hold an emergency meeting on Yemen on Sunday afternoon, a move which came one day after Islamic State (ISIL) militants carried out a series of attacks in Yemen's capital Sanaa and the northern city of Saada.

On Friday, suicide bombers took the lives of at least 150 people in two Sanaa mosques. In Saada, over 30 people were killed in attacks.

Sanaa is currently controlled by the Ansar Allah Houthi rebel group. In late January, Houthi rebels seized the presidential palace and government buildings forcing Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the country's government to resign.

On February 11, the United States suspended the work of the US Embassy in Sanaa and issued a travel warning for its citizens, citing ongoing terrorist activities and civil unrest in Yemen.

Later that same month, Hadi escaped house arrest, fled to the southern port city of Aden and withdrew his resignation.

On Thursday, Houthis launched airstrikes on the presidential palace in Aden. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks in its Friday statement, stressing that Hadi is the sole legitimate authority in Yemen and urging all sides in the Yemeni conflict to refrain from the use of military force.

The US State Department also stressed in its Saturday statement that President Hadi is the legitimate authority in Yemen and called on Houthi rebels to stop violent incitement which threatens Hadi, Yemeni government officials and innocent civilians in the country.

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Houthis Seize Airport in Yemeni Town of Taez

Yemeni Houthi militants have seized an airport in the central Yemeni war-torn town of Taez, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The airport was earlier controlled by the security forces loyal to former Yemeni president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Hadi, as well as the country's government, resigned after the Houthis captured the presidential palace and government buildings in late January.

Yemen has recently been hit by a series of bombings. On Friday, suicide bomber attacks on mosques in Yemen's capital Sanaa killed at least 150 people.

The central Yemeni town Taez is strategically located on the road between Sanaa, which the Houthi rebel group seized in September, and the southern city of Aden, where Hadi reportedly hides after escaping house arrest in the capital.

On Thursday, the Houthis launched airstrikes on the presidential palace in Aden. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks in its Friday statement, stressing that Hadi is the sole legitimate authority in Yemen and urging all sides in the Yemeni conflict to refrain from the use of military force.

The Houthis, Yemeni Shiite opposition group, first staged massive protests against injustice on the part of the Yemeni government last August. They took over a number of cities, including Sanaa, prompting the US-backed president to resign. Recently, the Houthis continued to make a rapid advance in other Yemeni cities.

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Yemen’s Embattled President Hadi to Call for Arab League’s Help in Egypt

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Rebel Houthis Offer $100,000 Reward for Capture of Yemeni President

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Houthi Fighters Seize Key Airbase North of Yemen's Aden

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150325/1019975778.html#ixzz3VOTDmW1z

i think yemen will become new syria-iraq

Saudi Arabia Readies For Possible Intervention in Yemen on Thursday

Saudi Arabia amassed heavy military equipment and artillery near its border with Yemen, showing signs of an impending military intervention. A formal go-ahead for the invasion might be given on Thursday by the Arab League.

As the conflict in Yemen escalates, US officials are saying that Saudi Arabia may be preparing airstrikes to defend Yemen’s embattled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against advancing Houthi rebels, as it starts moving weapons to areas near its neighboring country’s border.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, a US official said that Washington had acquired intelligence about Saudi’s mobilization of weapons, but declined to provide further details on location of said weapons or the exact size of the force being deployed.

Another US official referred to the move as “significant”, saying that the Saudis may be preparing air strikes to defend US-backed President Hadi in his southeastern refuge of Aden, where he fled to from Sanaa in February, as Shia Houthi rebels continue a southward advance in the country.

Tension has been rising in Yemen since the Houthis seized the capital city of Sanaa in September of last year and has escalated to near-civil war proportions when the rebels captured the central city of Taiz last weekend.

The conflict in Yemen additionally has a profound impact on Saudi Arabia’s regional politics, and readily lends itself to a proxy-war battlefield for rivaling Saudi Arabia and Iran. Furthermore, a Shia group’s advancement in Yemen would increase the perceived threat of Iranian influence moving into Saudi Arabia’s backyard.

"The Saudis are just really deeply concerned about what they see as an Iranian stronghold in a failed state along their borders." US Ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller said to Reuters.

Hadi asked the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday authorize "willing countries that wish to help Yemen provide immediate support for the legitimate authority by all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter Houthi aggression."

Hadi’s Foreign Minister, Riad Yassin, also enlisted the help of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said that "arrangements are taking place", but provided no additional details.

Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud Al-Faisal criticized the "aggression" of Houthi rebels and their allies, confirming that Gulf states will take "necessary measures" to counter it. He added, "We are prepared to accept all of President Hadi’s requests for the sake of the Yemeni people and their stability."

The Arab League, set to meet in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt on Thursday, will discuss the crisis in Yemen and Hadi’s request for intervention.

While the prospect of military intervention remains murky, Saudi Arabia’s mobilization of weapons to the border and consultations with other GCC states seem to indicate a readiness on the part of Sunni monarchies to combat Shia influence in the region.

The most recent Saudi intervention was in March 2011 when, along with the United Arab Emirates, the country deployed troops in Bahrain to crack down on local Shia-led protesters. The Sunni Bahraini royal family requested the intervention, invoking a joint security clause in the GCC agreement, and citing concerns about Iranian involvement in the protests.

The Houthis have denied taking financial or material support from Iran, while US officials have noted that any Iranian involvement in Yemen is likely limited to funding as the Shia regional power is more heavily invested in Syria and Iraq conflicts.

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Suppose S.Arabia interferes, what Iran will do?