Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fighting Sharply Rises in Yemen, Endangering Peace Efforts
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 28, 2020

Share

SANAA, Yemen — A drastic escalation in fighting between the Saudi-led military coalition and Houthi rebels in Yemen has killed and wounded hundreds of people over the past week, officials and tribal leaders said Monday.

A wave of over 40 coalition airstrikes hit rebel targets, destroying many of their tanks and armored vehicles, Houthi officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The U.S.-backed Arab coalition battling to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government stepped up airstrikes on rebel targets northeast of the capital, Sanaa, following a monthslong lull, while Houthis shelled government-held areas.
The sudden spike in violence across long-stalemated front lines threatened to exacerbate the five-year conflict and complicate indirect peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed rebels.
The U.N. Security Council called emergency consultations for Tuesday morning at Britain’s request on the latest developments. Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Karen Pierce, said the council would receive a closed-door video briefing from the U.N. envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths.
The warring factions have concentrated their forces in three main areas: Nehm, a half-hour drive from the capital; Jawf, a mountainous northern district; and Marib, a western province that saw one of the deadliest rebel attacks earlier this month. Fighting this week was the most intense those provinces had seen in three years, according to observers.
A wave of over 40 coalition airstrikes hit rebel targets, destroying many of their tanks and armored vehicles, Houthi officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Fighting Also Flared up Monday in the Large Government-Controlled City of Taiz

Despite heavy losses on both sides, the Houthis are gaining ground, officials said. Rebels seized a key supply line linking Marib with Jawf and were approaching the capital of the northwestern province. Artillery shelling in the district killed three civilians Monday.
Throughout the day, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi deliberated with military chiefs and local governors. He stressed the need to “upgrade military institutions to the highest level of training, armament and vigilance,” according to a government statement. Yemeni military setbacks have drawn recent complaints that the army lacks the technically advanced weaponry propelling Houthi advances.
Fighting also flared up Monday in the large government-controlled city of Taiz, where a mortar shell fired by Houthis struck a busy market, killing three civilians and wounding 10. Meanwhile, heavy clashes in the central province of Bayda killed 13 fighters on both sides.
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed vowed that government forces would “harshly confront” Houthi militias, which he accused of trying to “prolong the war and relieve the pressure and international isolation of Iran.”
The Houthi offensives signal “their explicit rejection of peace efforts,” he said.
For months, back-channel negotiations in Oman between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis stirred modest hopes for reconciliation. But sharply escalating violence has put the political process on shaky ground.

Yemen Has Been Convulsed by War Since Houthi Rebels Seized the Capital

Peter Salisbury, Yemen expert at the International Crisis Group, said the Houthis may be using their military successes to gain leverage before talks resume next week in Oman.

“Both sides seem to want some sort of truce. But the danger is that if the Houthis feel they’re on the front foot, they’ll keep pressing advances and that will make these negotiations very difficult.” — Peter Salisbury, Yemen expert at the International Crisis Group
“Both sides seem to want some sort of truce,” Salisbury said. “But the danger is that if the Houthis feel they’re on the front foot, they’ll keep pressing advances and that will make these negotiations very difficult.”
Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, has been convulsed by war since Houthi rebels seized the capital and ousted Hadi’s government in 2014. The conflict set off one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing over 10,000 people, displacing more than 3 million and pushing the country to the brink of famine.
Potentially fatal diseases, such as cholera, spread as the country’s public health and sanitation systems collapsed. Following intense international pressure on the Saudi-led coalition, the foreign ministry announced on Monday that for the first time in years, Yemen would start direct flights for seriously ill patients seeking medical treatment in Egypt and Jordan.
To weaken the Houthis, the coalition imposes a blockade on the Sanaa international airport, along with other ports in rebel-held areas. The closure has hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid and barred thousands of sick Yemenis from traveling abroad for urgent care.
“This humanitarian step aims to alleviate the suffering of citizens unable to endure the hardship of traveling by road to other airports,” the ministry said of the medical flights, adding that the flights would begin next month.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

DON'T MISS

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

DON'T MISS

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

DON'T MISS

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

DON'T MISS

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

DON'T MISS

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

DON'T MISS

Putin Says Russia Has Tested a New Intermediate Range Missile in a Strike on Ukraine

DON'T MISS

SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Who Led US Crackdown on Cryptocurrencies, to Step Down

DON'T MISS

Is Fresno Mobile Home Park Controversy Over? Tenants Applaud Federal Judge’s Ruling

DON'T MISS

Wiggins, Curry Power Warriors to Dominant Win Over Hawks

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Pope to Make Late Italian Teenager Carlo Acutis the First Millennial Saint on April 27

UP NEXT

US Vetoes UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza Conflict

UP NEXT

Israeli Officials Demand the Right to Strike Hezbollah Under Any Cease-Fire Deal for Lebanon

UP NEXT

Spain Will Legalize Hundreds of Thousands of Undocumented Migrants in the Next 3 Years

UP NEXT

TSMC Walks a Geopolitical Tightrope

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Iran Defies International Pressure, Increasing Its Stockpile of Near Weapons-Grade Uranium, UN Says

UP NEXT

Riders Stuck in Midair for Over 2 Hours on Knott’s Berry Farm Ride

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

37 minutes ago

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

40 minutes ago

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

45 minutes ago

Putin Says Russia Has Tested a New Intermediate Range Missile in a Strike on Ukraine

51 minutes ago

SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Who Led US Crackdown on Cryptocurrencies, to Step Down

1 hour ago

Is Fresno Mobile Home Park Controversy Over? Tenants Applaud Federal Judge’s Ruling

1 hour ago

Wiggins, Curry Power Warriors to Dominant Win Over Hawks

2 hours ago

Sale and Skubal Claim Cy Young Awards After Historic Pitching Triple Crown Seasons

2 hours ago

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

2 hours ago

Bulldogs Stack Double-Doubles Like Burgers on a Plate to Beat Prairie View

2 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

STORRS — Geno Auriemma soaked in the moment. UConn’s Hall of Fame coach now stands alone atop the NCAA basketball wins list. Auriemma ...

18 minutes ago

18 minutes ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

25 minutes ago

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

33 minutes ago

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

37 minutes ago

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

40 minutes ago

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

45 minutes ago

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

51 minutes ago

Putin Says Russia Has Tested a New Intermediate Range Missile in a Strike on Ukraine

1 hour ago

SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Who Led US Crackdown on Cryptocurrencies, to Step Down

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend