Iran shouldn’t get ‘undeserved’ deal, says Saudi FM

Yemen Houthi rebels advance despite Saudi-led air strikes Fri, Mar 27 20:47 PM EDT image 1 of 9 By Mohammed Mukhashef ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi rebels made broad gains in the country's south and east on Friday despite a second day of Saudi-led air strikes meant to check the Iranian-backed militia's efforts to overthrow President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Shi'ite Muslim Houthi fighters and allied army units gained their first foothold on Yemen's Arabian Sea coast by seizing the port of Shaqra 100km (60 miles) east of Aden, residents told Reuters. Explosions and crackles of small gunfire rang out across Aden late on Friday as Houthis made a push on the southern port city's airport, a witness said. The advances threaten Hadi's last refuge in Yemen and potentially undermine the air campaign to support him. The spokesman for the Saudi-led operation, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, told a news conference in Riyadh that defending the Aden government was the campaign's "main objective". "The operation will continue as long as there is a need for it to continue," Asseri said. Warplanes targeted Houthi forces controlling Yemen's capital Sanaa and their northern heartland on Friday. Asseri said that planes from the United Arab Emirates had carried out their first strikes in the past 24 hours. In a boost for Saudi Arabia, Morocco said it would join the rapidly assembled Sunni Muslim coalition against the Houthis. Pakistan, named by Saudi Arabia as a partner, said it had made no decision on whether to contribute. REGIONAL CONTEST Riyadh’s military intervention is the latest front in a growing regional contest for power with Iran that is also playing out in Syria, where Tehran backs Assad’s government against mainly Sunni rebels, and Iraq, where Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias are playing a major role in fighting. Sunni monarchies in the Gulf are backing Hadi and his fellow Sunnis in the country's south against the Shi'ite advance. Yemen's powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose military units fight alongside the Houthis, called on Friday for a cessation of hostilities by both sides, according to a statement carried by his party's website. Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen said the air campaign could end within days. He said the door was still open for dialogue with the Houthis, while in a Facebook posting, Hadi urged Yemenis to be patient and predicted the Houthis would soon be gone. But the Houthis and allied army units seized the southern town of Shaqra in Abyan province on Friday, gaining access to the Arabian Sea, residents said. Their entry into the city means they control most land routes to Aden and can block tribal fighters trying to come in to reinforce Hadi's troops. Residents said dozens of pickup trucks loaded with tribal fighters have reached the town of Mudyah and were expected to clash with the Houthi forces based in Shaqra and the town of Lodar. During a week of intense fighting, the Houthis have taken the Red Sea port of al-Mukha to Aden's northwest, and the city's northern outskirts, suggesting Aden is danger, despite the air strikes against the Houthis. Witnesses in Sanaa said Houthi fighters and allied military units were re-positioning some anti-aircraft units at police stations in some neighborhoods, causing panic among residents, who fear they will become targets for air strikes. Residents said aircraft targeted bases around Sanaa of Republican Guards allied to the Houthis, and also struck near a military installation that houses missiles. The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency put the death toll in Sanaa at 24 and said 43 were wounded and 14 houses were destroyed. Houthi-run al-Masirah television also said 15 people were killed in an air strike on a market in the northern city of Saada. OIL REGION HIT The Republican Guards are loyal to Saleh, who retains wide power despite having left office in 2012 after mass protests. Earlier air strikes south of the city and in the oil-producing Marib region appeared to target military installations also affiliated with Saleh. Warplanes also hit two districts in the Houthis' northerly home province of Saada, tribal sources said. The coalition began air strikes on Thursday to try to roll back Houthi gains and shore up Hadi, who has been holed up in Aden after fleeing Sanaa in February. Hadi left Aden on Thursday to attend an Arab summit in Egypt on Saturday, where he aims to build support for the air strikes. U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his support for the Saudi-led military action in a phone call with Saudi King Salman on Friday, the White House said. In his first reaction to the attacks, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi on Thursday called Saudi Arabia a bad neighbor and "Satan's horn", saying in a televised speech Yemenis would confront the "criminal, unjust and unjustified aggression". Mosques in Riyadh on Friday preached fiery sermons against the Houthis and their Iranian allies, describing the fight as a religious duty. Saudi Arabia's top clerical council gave its blessing to the campaign. In the Iranian capital Tehran, Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Kazem Sadeghi described the attacks as "an aggression and interference in Yemen’s internal affairs". Iran has denounced the assault on the Houthis and demanded an immediate halt to Saudi-led military operations. While U.S. officials have downplayed the scope of the ties between Iran and the Houthis, Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir said members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Iranian-backed Hezbollah are on the ground advising the Houthis. The Saudi military spokesman said there were no plans at this stage for ground force operations, but if the need arose, Saudi and allied ground forces would repel "any aggression." (With additional reporting by Sami Aboudi, Maha El Dahan, and Ali Abdelatti and Eric Beech in Washington; writing by William Maclean; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Giles Elgood and Andrew Heavens) ====== WASHINGTON | BY MATT SPETALNICK, WARREN STROBEL AND MARK HOSENBALL (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia kept some key details of its military action in Yemen from Washington until the last moment, U.S. officials said, as the kingdom takes a more assertive regional role to compensate for perceived U.S. disengagement. The Middle East's top oil power told the United States weeks ago it was weighing action in Yemen but only informed Washington of the exact details just before Thursday's unprecedented air strikes against Iran-allied Houthi rebels, the officials said. U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East policy increasingly relies on surrogates rather than direct U.S. military involvement. He is training Syrian rebels to take on the government of President Bashar Assad and this week launched air strikes to back up Iraqi forces trying to retain the city of Tikrit. To Obama's Republican critics, he is ceding the traditional U.S. leadership role. The White House denies it is disengaging from the region and says it has been in close contact with the Saudis over their plans in recent days. Although the Saudis spoke with top U.S. officials as they debated an air assault in support of embattled Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, U.S. officials acknowledged gaps in their knowledge of the kingdom’s battle plans and objectives. Asked when he was told by Saudi Arabia that it would take military action in Yemen, General Lloyd Austin, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, told a Senate hearing on Thursday he spoke with Saudi Arabia’s chief of defense "right before they took action." He added that he couldn't assess the likelihood of the campaign succeeding because he didn't know the "specific goals and objectives." Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, said Riyadh consulted closely with Washington on Yemen - but ultimately decided it had to act quickly as Houthi rebels moved toward Hadi's last redoubt in the southern city of Aden. "The concern was, if Aden falls, then what do you do?" al-Jubeir told a small group of reporters on Thursday. "The concern was that the situation was so dire you had to move." Saudi Arabia's air strikes point toward an aspiration to defend its regional interests with less reliance on the U.S. security umbrella that has long been the main thrust of Washington’s relations with the oil-rich kingdom. MORE ASSERTIVE Riyadh has been growing increasingly assertive since early 2011, when Washington's reluctance to back former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in the face of mass protests led the Saudis to doubt its commitment to traditional Arab allies. Obama's decision in summer 2013 not to bomb Syria after the use of poison gas there, coupled with its sudden announcement it had conducted secret nuclear talks with Riyadh's nemesis Iran, further alarmed the Saudis. "If the operation is successful, I think we will see a major turn in Saudi foreign policy. It's going to be assertive, become more aggressive in dealing with the Iranian expansionism,” said Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi security analyst with ties to the Saudi Interior Ministry. The Obama administration is reluctant to get drawn into direct military action in another Arab conflict when it is already facing daunting challenges in Syria and Iraq. The worsening Yemen conflict forced Washington to evacuate all remaining U.S. special forces from the country, further undermining the U.S. campaign of drone strikes against the most lethal branch of al Qaeda based there. Sunni Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen is the latest front in a growing regional contest for power with Iran that is also playing out in Syria, where Tehran backs Assad’s government, and Iraq, where Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias are playing a major role in fighting. While U.S. officials have downplayed the scope of the relationship between Iran and Yemen’s Houthis, al-Jubeir said that members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed Hezbollah are on the ground advising the Houthis. One senior U.S. official described Riyadh's operation as a "panic response" to the fast-deteriorating situation in Yemen that the Saudis feared could spill over its border. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that the 10-nation Saudi-led coalition had been patched together so quickly that its effectiveness was in doubt. The White House says it will not join directly in military operations in Yemen, but has set up a cell to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support to the operation. But U.S. officials said they were sharing intelligence information on a limited basis so far. U.S. officials said they discussed the deteriorating situation in Yemen with Saudi Arabia over the course of recent weeks. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed Yemen at length during a March 5 visit to Riyadh, but it was "not clear (the Saudis) had made any decisions about potential action at that point," said a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We had been talking with the Saudis throughout the course of the last several days about what they were thinking and what type of support we could render with regards to their actions in Yemen," U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said. (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington and Angus McDowall in Riyadh. Editing Iran calls Saudi airstrikes in Yemen 'dangerous step' By AHMED AL-HAJ Mar. 26, 2015 5:14 AM EDT 720 11 photos Mideast Yemen People carry the body of a child they uncovered from under the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi... Read more SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes Thursday targeting military installations in Yemen held by Shiite rebels who were taking over a key port city in the country's south and had driven the embattled president to flee by sea, security officials said. Some of the strikes hit positions in the country's capital, Sanaa. The airstrikes, which had the support of nine other countries, drew a strong reaction from Iran which called the operation an "invasion" and a "dangerous step" that will worsen the crisis in the country. The back-and-forth between the regional heavyweights was threatening to turn impoverished Yemen into a proxy battle between the Middle East's Sunni powers and Shiite-led Iran. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya News reported that the kingdom had deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units. The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, were calling on their supporters to protest in the streets of Sanaa on Thursday afternoon, Yemen's Houthi-controlled state news agency SABA reported. On Wednesday President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a close U.S. ally, fled Yemen by sea as the rebels started taking over the southern port city of Aden where he had taken refuge. Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir announced the military operation in a news conference in Washington. He said his government had consulted closely with the U.S. and other allies but that the U.S. military was not involved in the operations. The White House said in a statement late Wednesday that the U.S. was coordinating military and intelligence support with the Saudis but not taking part directly in the strikes. Other regional players were involved in the Saudi operation: The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency, saying they would answer a request from Hadi "to protect Yemen and his dear people from the aggression of the Houthi militias which were and are still a tool in the hands of foreign powers that don't stop meddling with the security and stability of brotherly Yemen." Oman, the sixth member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, didn't sign onto the statement. Egypt also announced political and military support. "There is coordination ongoing now with Saudi Arabia and the brotherly gulf countries about preparations to participate with an Egyptian air and naval forces and ground troops if necessary," it said in a statement carried by the state news agency. Pakistan, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan were also joining the operation, the Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies believe the Houthis are tools for Iran to seize control of Yemen and say they intend to stop the takeover. The Houthis deny they are backed by Iran. Security officials in Yemen said the Saudi airstrikes targeted a camp for U.S.-trained special forces, which is controlled by generals loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The officials said the targets included the missile base in Sanaa that was controlled by the Houthis earlier this year. One of the Yemeni security officials said the strikes also targeted the fuel depot at the base. The Houthis said in a statement to reporters that Saudi jets hit the military base, known as al-Duleimi, and that they responded with anti-aircraft missiles. Riad Yassin, Yemen's foreign minister, told Saudi's Al-Hadath TV that the airstrikes were welcomed. "I hope the Houthis listen to the sound of reason. With what is happening, they forced us into this," he said. The crumbling of Hadi's government is a blow to Washington's counterterrorism strategy against al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, considered to be the most powerful in the terrorist network. Over the weekend, about 100 U.S. military advisers withdrew from the al-Annad air base where they had been leading a drone campaign against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. Yemen now faces fragmentation, with Houthis controlling much of the north, including the capital of Sanaa, and several southern provinces. In recent days, they took the third-largest city, Taiz, as well as much of the province of Lahj, both just to the north of Aden. The Houthis are backed by Saleh, the autocrat who ruled Yemen for three decades until he was removed amid a 2011 Arab Spring uprising. Some of the best-equipped and trained military and security units remained loyal to Saleh and they have helped the Houthis in their rapid advance. Hadi left Sanaa for Aden earlier this month after escaping house arrest under the Houthis, who overran the capital six months ago. In Aden, he had sought to make a last stand, claiming it as the temporary seat of what remained of his government, backed by allied militias and loyal army units. With Houthis and Saleh forces closing in on multiple fronts, Hadi and his aides left Aden Wednesday on two boats in the Gulf of Aden, security and port officials told The Associated Press. The officials would not specify his destination. Read more Florida teen dies after being shocked by police Associated Press AP PHOTOS: Brazil fans in shock after 7-1 loss Associated Press 'Simpsons' creator finds funny in his cancer fight Associated Press Zemanta Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen, launches coalition op against Houthi rebels Published time: March 25, 2015 23:49 Edited time: March 26, 2015 02:20 Get short URL Reuters / Fahad Shadeed Air Force, Army, Conflict, Middle East, Military, Religion, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian forces, joined by nine other countries, have launched a military operation in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi ambassador to the US said. The offensive, which started with airstrikes, will also involve “other military assets.” According to Ambassador Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT). The US is not participating in the operation, the envoy stressed. Al Arabiya reported that warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombed positions of Yemen’s Houthi militia, targeting their air defenses. Reports from the ground indicate that Saudi forces have bombed an office belonging to Houthi rebels in Sanaa’s Jiraf area, with many casualties. Residents are saying that warplanes are targeting the capital’s airport, according to Reuters. Houthis are using heavy anti-aircraft fire to respond to the bombing. Another warplane attack was said to have been launched on Sanaa’s Dulaimi military airbase. The bombers affiliation could not be immediately confirmed. Al-Jubair told Al Jazeera that Houthi fighters are in control of Yemeni’s ballistic and heavy weaponry and could be taking over the country’s air force. Hadi’s government officials have been calling on Gulf states to impose a no-fly zone over Yemen. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait issued a joint statement saying that they “decided to repel Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) in the country.” The Gulf states said they were responding to a “major threat” to the stability of the region, saying that their cause is to “repel Houthi aggression” in Yemen. Al-Jubeir said the 10-country coalition launched the campaign “to protect and defend the legitimate government” of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after his appeal to intervene. Hadi is believed to have fled the country as Houthi rebels captured the southern seaport of Aden, the deposed leader's stronghold. Egypt is providing political and military support for the operation, the country’s state media said. Cairo is prepared to take part in air, naval and ground operations if necessary, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has announced. While the Saudi envoy insisted Washington only “consulted” Riyadh, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that America has been supporting the military operation in an unspecified way. An unnamed US official confirmed to Reuters that the Saudis consulted with Washington about the military operation at the “highest levels” before proceeding with the attack, adding that US President Barack Obama knew of Riyadh’s plans to invade Yemen. Read more Saudi Arabia moves heavy arms to border with chaos-stricken Yemen Houthi leaders have in turn branded the Saudi offensive as “aggression” and warned that it will drag the entire Gulf region into conflict. “There is an aggression underway on Yemen and we will confront it valiantly,” a member of the Houthi political office, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, told Al Jazeera. “Military operations will drag the region to a wide war.” Ships in the region have been urged not to approach Yemen’s ports due to the ongoing military operation, Saudi-owned Al-Hadath TV reported. US President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-led military operations in Yemen, the White House said in a statement, confirming that Washington had close communication with Hadi, the Saudis and other GCC states prior to the launch of the military operation. “While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support,” the statement said. Moreover, the White House urged the Houthis to immediately halt “destabilizing military actions” and to return to political dialogue with the deposed Yemeni government. Meanwhile, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told TASS that the UN is aware of Saudi Arabia launching a military operation in Yemen and is looking into more details. Just a few hours before the operation, Haq told journalists that the UN does not believe in military actions to resolve the conflict in Yemen. ===== Exclusive: Saudi Arabia building up military near Yemen border - U.S. officials Tue, Mar 24 19:49 PM EDT By Mark Hosenball, Phil Stewart and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict. The buildup follows a southward advance by Iranian-backed Houthi Shi'ite militants who took control of the capital Sanaa in September and seized the central city of Taiz at the weekend as they move closer to the new southern base of U.S.-supported President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The slide toward war in Yemen has made the country a crucial front in Saudi Arabia's region-wide rivalry with Iran, which Riyadh accuses of sowing sectarian strife through its support for the Houthis. The conflict risks spiraling into a proxy war with Shi'ite Iran backing the Houthis, whose leaders adhere to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, and Saudi Arabia and the other regional Sunni Muslim monarchies backing Hadi. The armor and artillery being moved by Saudi Arabia could be used for offensive or defensive purposes, two U.S. government sources said. Two other U.S. officials said the build-up appeared to be defensive. One U.S. government source described the size of the Saudi buildup on Yemen's border as "significant" and said the Saudis could be preparing air strikes to defend Hadi if the Houthis attack his refuge in the southern seaport of Aden. Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had acquired intelligence about the Saudi build-up. But there was no immediate word on the precise location near the border or the exact size of the force deployed. Hadi, who supported Washington’s campaign of deadly drone strikes on a powerful al Qaeda branch based in Yemen, has been holed up in Aden with his loyalist forces since he fled Sanaa in February. On Tuesday, forces loyal to Hadi drove Houthi fighters from two towns they had seized hours earlier, residents said, apparently checking an advance by the Shi'ite fighters toward Aden. SAUDIS "DEEPLY CONCERNED" Saudi Arabia faces the risk of the turmoil spilling across its porous 1,800 km (1,100 mile)-long border with Yemen and into its Shi'ite Eastern Province where the kingdom's richest oil deposits lie. “The Saudis are just really deeply concerned about what they see as an Iranian stronghold in a failed state along their border,” U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller told Reuters on Monday at a conference hosted by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Washington. But a former senior U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the prospects for successful external intervention in Yemen appeared slim. He said Hadi’s prospects appeared to be worsening and that for now he was “pretty well pinned down.” Riyadh hosted top-level talks with Gulf Arab neighbors on Saturday that backed Hadi as Yemen's legitimate president and offered "all efforts" to preserve the country's stability. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said on Monday Arab countries would take necessary measures to protect the region against "aggression" by the Houthi movement if a peaceful solution could not be found. In March 2011, Saudi troops, along with those from the United Arab Emirates, entered neighboring Bahrain after weeks of protests by that country’s Shi’ite majority that Riyadh feared could lead to an expansion of Iran’s influence. A spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any military movements. Yemen asked the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to back military action by "willing countries" to combat Houthi militias, according to a letter from Hadi seen by Reuters. Hadi wants the 15-member body to adopt a resolution that would authorize "willing countries that wish to help Yemen to provide immediate support for the legitimate authority by all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter the Houthi aggression." Fighting has spread across the Arabian peninsula country since last September when the Houthis seized Sanaa and advanced into Sunni Muslim areas. U.S. officials said on Saturday that the United States had evacuated all its remaining personnel in Yemen, including about 100 special operations forces, because of the security situation. The end of a U.S. security presence inside the country has dealt a blow to Washington's ability to monitor and fight al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate. The Houthis have denied taking material and financial support from Tehran. But last year Yemeni, Western and Iranian sources gave Reuters details of Iranian military and financial support to the Houthis before and after their takeover of Sanaa last year. However, U.S. officials have said that Iranian backing for the Houthi rebels has been largely limited to funding. They say Iran has its hands full providing armed assistance to its allies in Syria and Iraq. (Additional reporting by Warren Strobel; Editing by Jason Szep and Stuart Grudgings) =============== AFP — Updated about an hour ago Whatsapp FM accused Tehran of continued meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and attempts to stoke sectarian conflicts. —AFP/File FM accused Tehran of continued meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and attempts to stoke sectarian conflicts. —AFP/File RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal said on Monday that Iran, which is negotiating with world powers on its nuclear programme, should not get “undeserved deals”. “It is impossible that Iran should get undeserved deals,” Prince Saud said at a joint news conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. Prince Saud called for guarantees that the programme “does not turn into a nuclear weapon that could pose a threat to the region and the world, especially in view of Iran’s aggressive politics in the region”. The minister also accused Tehran of “continued meddling in the affairs of Arab countries and attempts to stoke sectarian conflicts in the region”. Published in Dawn March 24th , 2015 On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play ========================= Yemen foes square off as fears of war, Saudi-Iran rivalry grow Mon, Mar 23 21:29 PM EDT image 1 of 7 By Angus McDowall and Noah Browning RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen's top factions are squaring off for battle after months of skirmishes, turning respectively to neighboring Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran for help in what may become all-out war. With President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi seeking a comeback from the port city of Aden while the Shi'ite Houthi movement controls the capital Sanaa, rival administrations are trading bellicose rhetoric as fighting intensifies and factions commandeer airfields for the next stage of the struggle. Somewhat on the sidelines, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State are waiting to exploit what some fear could become Yemen's worst conflict since a 1994 civil war. "For years Yemen has defied all the odds and proved wrong those who said it was on the brink of civil war and about to collapse," Farea al-Muslimi, a researcher with the Carnegie Middle East Center said. "But we may have run out of miracles." Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen called on Monday for Gulf Arab help to prevent the Houthis' getting air control. "We have expressed to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United Nations as well as the international community that there should be a no-fly zone, and the use of military aircraft should be prevented at the airports controlled by the Houthis," he told the newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat. United Nations mediator Jamal Benomar said on Sunday that Yemen had been pushed "towards the edge of civil war" that he believed neither the Houthis nor Hadi could win. "Any side that would want to push the country in either direction would be inviting a protracted conflict in the vein of an Iraq-Libya-Syria combined scenario," he told the Security Council. Violence has spread across the Arabian peninsula country since last year, when Houthi militia seized Sanaa and effectively removed Hadi, a U.S. ally. This angered the Sunni-ruled Gulf states led by Riyadh, which regards the once obscure group from the northern highlands as terrorists. TEST OF STRENGTH The turmoil has made Yemen a front in Saudi Arabia's region-wide rivalry with Iran, mainly contested on sectarian lines, by creating an ally for Tehran in its backyard. Riyadh hosted top-level talks with Gulf Arab neighbors on Saturday that backed Hadi as Yemen's legitimate president and offered "all efforts" to preserve the country's stability. It was not clear if that included military aid. The Houthis, who share a Shi'ite ideology with Iran, have denied taking material and financial support from Tehran. But last year Yemeni, Western and Iranian sources gave Reuters details of Iranian military and financial support to the Houthis before and after their takeover of Sanaa on Sept. 21. The Houthis adhere to the Zaydi sect of Shi'ite Islam, and despite Yemen's tradition of religious tolerance, their advance has alarmed many Sunnis, some of whom have allied with AQAP. In a blow to U.S. counter-terrorism operations, Washington said on Saturday it had evacuated its remaining personnel, including about 100 special operations forces, because of the deteriorating security situation. With both Hadi and the Houthis indulging in chest-beating propaganda and staking rival claims to be the rightful rulers, the stage now appears set for a military test of strength. Both have support in the factionalized military. In the past week the Houthis, backed by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have advanced on Hadi's forces in the south and clashed with tribes in central provinces. Fighting has focused on gaining strategic positions and air bases but analysts fear the consequences should Saudi Arabia and Iran join in more openly. "So far in the crisis there has not been that tipping point towards war, partly because there has been no external backer to provide enough munitions," said Fernando Carvajal of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Britain's Exeter University, warning of the risks of more outside involvement. External help could prove decisive. Hadi's control of Aden's sea and air ports would allow his Gulf Arab allies to supply his now meager military forces with ease. Houthi control of the Red Sea port of Hodeida and the onset of direct Tehran-Sanaa flights last month means Iran could offer its allies similar assistance. RESISTANCE For now the Houthis and Saleh, a critic of Hadi, appear to hold the upper hand, but this may not last. Their forces, reckoned by analysts to represent around two thirds of the old Yemeni army, face three main enemies: units loyal to Hadi in Aden, Sunni tribes in Marib province and tribes fighting alongside AQAP in al-Bayda province. "The Houthis and Saleh might be able to win the initial battle but they'll lose the war, because they will be faced with a lot of resistance. They're already drowning in Bayda," said Nadwa Dawsari, a researcher on Yemen's tribes. Much of the past week's fighting has been over air power. Hadi built a power base in the air force when in Sanaa, replacing its commander and purging officers seen as disloyal. But last week the Houthis installed a new air force chief and unidentified jets bombed Hadi's Aden residence. Hadi's men then seized Aden's airport and radar station at al-Anad airbase. More immediate ground fighting may come in Marib, a big prize because of its oil facilities, where 12 people were killed on Saturday in clashes between the Houthis and Sunni tribes. Another fear of Arab and Western states is that either the Houthis or Sunni jihadi groups may gain the space to threaten regional energy facilities and the Bab al-Mandeb shipping route, a vital energy gateway for Europe, Asia and the United States. (Editing by William Maclean and David Stamp)

Suicide bombers kill 137 in Yemen mosque attacks, Fighting between Yemeni president supporters and opponents halts Aden flights

Allies of Yemen Houthis seize Aden airport, close in on president Wed, Mar 25 17:56 PM EDT image 1 of 3 By Sami Aboudi ADEN (Reuters) - Houthi militia forces and allied army units seized Aden airport and a nearby air base on Wednesday, tightening their grip on the outskirts of the southern Yemeni city after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled his residence for a safer location. The United States said Hadi, holed up in Aden since fleeing the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa last month, was no longer at the compound he has been using as a base. It offered no other details on his movements. "We were in touch with him earlier today," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing in Washington. "He is no longer at his residence. I'm not in position to confirm any additional details from here about his location." Residents later said looters had entered the residence hours after Hadi vacated it in mid-afternoon for an unknown location. Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen and Hadi's aides said Hadi remained in Aden, in a safe place, without elaborating. Local officials said troops loyal to Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a powerful ally of the Houthis, had captured Aden airport in late afternoon but that clashes with Hadi supporters were continuing in the vicinity. The airport was closed and all flights were canceled. Earlier the Houthis and their allies took al-Anad air base 60 km (37 miles) north of the city before continuing their southward advance. Yemen's slide toward civil war has made the country a crucial front in mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia's rivalry with Shi'ite Iran, which Riyadh accuses of stirring up sectarian strife through its support for the Houthis. Sunni Arab monarchies around the region have condemned the Shi'ite Houthi takeover as a coup and have mooted a military intervention in favor of Hadi in recent days. U.S. officials say Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening conflict. Saudi sources said the build-up, which also included tanks, was purely defensive. Soldiers at Aden's Jabal al-Hadeed barracks fired into the air to prevent residents from entering and arming themselves, witnesses said, suggesting that Hadi's control over the city was fraying. Five people were killed and 12 wounded in shooting at the barracks, medical sources said without elaborating. Earlier, unidentified warplanes fired missiles at the Aden neighborhood where Hadi's compound is located, residents said. Anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on the planes. While the battle for Aden is publicly being waged by the Houthi movement, many there believe that the real instigator of the campaign is former president Saleh, a fierce critic of Hadi. Saleh was the force behind Aden's previous humiliation in 1994, when as president he crushed a southern secessionist uprising in a short war. Unlike other regional leaders deposed in the Arab Spring, Saleh was allowed to remain in the country. HOUTHI ADVANCE Army loyalists close to Saleh on Wednesday warned against foreign interference, saying on his party website that Yemen would confront such a move "with all its strength". Diplomats say they suspect the Houthis want to take Aden before an Arab summit this weekend, to preempt an expected attempt by Hadi ally Saudi Arabia to rally Arab support at the gathering for military intervention in Yemen. The Arab League will discuss on Thursday a proposal by Yemen's foreign minister, who called on Arab states to intervene militarily to halt the Houthi advance, the regional body's deputy secretary general said. The Houthi advance was taking its toll. The bodies of fighters from both sides lay on the streets of the outskirts of Houta, capital of Lahej province north of Aden, residents said. In Houta, storefronts were shuttered and residents reported hearing bursts of machine gun fire and saw the bodies of fighters from both sides lying in the streets. Witnesses said Houthi fighters and allied soldiers largely bypassed the city center and traveled by dirt roads to the southern suburbs facing Aden. Heavy traffic clogged Aden as parents brought schoolchildren home and public sector employees obeyed orders to leave work. Witnesses said pro-Hadi militiamen and tribal gunmen were out in force throughout the city. "The war is imminent and there is no escape from it," said 21-year-old Mohammed Ahmed, standing outside a security compound in Aden's Khor Maksar district, where hundreds of young men have been signing up to fight the advancing Shi'ite fighters. "And we are ready for it. Houthi militants took control of Sanaa last September and seized the central city of Taiz at the weekend as they moved closer to Aden. Houthi leaders have said their advance is a revolution against Hadi and his corrupt government. Iran has blessed their rise as part of an "Islamic awakening" in the region. (Reporting By Mohammed Mukhashaf, Sami Aboudi, Mohammed Ghobari and Noah Browning,; Editing by William Maclean, Angus MacSwan and Gareth Jones) =============== Report: Iran-backed rebels in Yemen loot secret files about US spy operations, US officials tell @latimes Read more on latimes.com  Yemen crisis  2h More: US State Department says unable to confirm additional details on Yemeni President Hadi's location; says they have been in touch with him over last several days - @NBCNews End of alert  Yemen crisis  3h Witnesses: Residents are looting Yemeni presidential compound in Aden, which was vacated earlier by President Hadi - @Reuters Read more on yahoo.com  Yemen crisis  3h US State Department: Yemeni President Hadi left residence voluntarily - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen crisis  4h Editor's note: Sources in Saudi Arabia tell Reuters that there are no plans for military intervention in the Yemen crisis as Shiite rebels known as Houthis and allies advance on Aden. However, Saudi Arabia had previously warned that "if the Houthi coup does not end peacefully, we will take the necessary measures for this crisis to protect the region," The Associated Press reports. There are reports Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has fled the country, but he is scheduled to attend an Arab summit in Egypt this weekend, where allies are set to discuss possible intervention against Houthis, the AP reports. - Stephanie Read more on bigstory.ap.org  Yemen crisis  5h Yemeni foreign minister denies reports President Hadi has fled Aden - @FrankRGardner see original on twitter.com  Yemen crisis  5h Yemen's Aden airport captured by troops loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, local officials say - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen crisis  5h White House calls on Houthi militia forces to stop fomenting instability in Yemen - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen crisis  6h Updated: Officials say Yemen's embattled president has left country on a boat from Aden; Yemen's foreign minister denies report in interview - @AP, @FrankRGardner End of alert  Yemen crisis  6h Yemeni officials: Forces allied with Shiite rebels have taken over airport in the city of Aden - @AP End of alert  Yemen crisis  7h Saudi Arabia's military buildup near its southern border with Yemen is purely defensive, 2 Saudi sources say - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen crisis  9h Aden airport in Yemen closed, all flights cancelled due to security concerns, guards say - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen crisis  9h Arab League deputy secretary general says body will discuss Yemen intervention plan tomorrow at foreign minister level - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen crisis  10h Yemen's foreign minister calls for Arab military intervention against advancing Shiite rebels - @AP End of alert Mar 25, 2015, 11:44 AM GMT 10h Warplanes flying over Aden fire missiles at district housing Yemen president's compound, residents say - @Reuters End of alert Alert my friends  Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi   Aden, `Adan, YE   war & conflict   Yemen   Yemen crisis   Yemen  11h Authorities say Shiite rebels have arrested Yemen's defense minister - @AP End of alert  Aden, `Adan, YE  11h Shiite rebels offer bounty for capture of embattled president as they near his last refuge - @AP End of alert  Aden, `Adan, YE  12h Officials say Yemen's embattled president has fled Aden home as Shiite rebels near - @AP End of alert  Aden, `Adan, YE  13h Public sector workers in Yemen's Aden told to go home, residents arm themselves, witnesses say - @Reuters End of alert  Al Anad, Lahij, YE  14h Officials loyal to Yemen's President Hadi had no immediate comment on claims rebels have 'secured' the al-Annad air base - @AP End of alert  Al Anad, Lahij, YE  14h Shiite rebel TV station says its fighters seize Yemen air base where US advised al-Qaida fight - @AP End of alert  Yemen  15h Army officers loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh say Yemen armed forces will confront any foreign intervention - @Reuters End of alert  Yemen  1d Yemen asks UN Security Council to authorize military action by 'willing countries' to deter Houthi militia aggression - @Reuters End of alert  Ad Dali, YE  1d Hadi loyalists reverse Houthi gains in 2 Yemen towns, residents say - @Reuters Read more on dailymail.co.uk  Yemen  1d Houthi official says al-Qaida exploiting southern separatism to stoke struggle between Yemen's regions - @Reuters End of alert  Fight against Islamic State militants  1d Houthi official says Houthis not targeting Aden, but defending Yemen against Islamist militants - @Reuters Yemen Huthi advance raises fears over key waterway . AFP By Mohamed Hasni 18 hours Yemeni supporters of the Shiite Huthi movement shout slogans during a rally in Sanaa against a US and Saudi intervention in Yemen, on March 6, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mohammed Huwais) . Aden (AFP) - As they advance south, Yemen's Iran-linked Huthi militiamen are moving within striking distance of the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital corridor through which much of the world's maritime trade passes. Only about 30 kilometres (20 miles) across at its narrowest point, the strait separates the Arabian Peninsula from east Africa and links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Nearly 40 percent of global maritime trade is estimated to pass through the strait, much of it on its way to and from the Suez Canal. As Yemen's Shiite Huthi militiamen have moved south after seizing the capital Sanaa last year, concern has been growing about their intentions for Bab al-Mandab. The militia on Sunday took control of the airport in the key central city of Taez, tightening the noose on President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in his refuge in the southern city of Aden only about 180 kilometres (110 miles) away. Hadi fled to Aden after escaping house arrest in Sanaa last month, and the country has increasingly been divided between the Huthi-controlled north and presidential loyalists in the south. Security sources say Huthi forces have been dispatched from Taez to the port of Mocha, some 80 kilometres to the west. From Mocha, a coastal road of around 100 kilometres leads to Bab al-Mandab. If the militia does make a move to take control the strait, experts say, Yemen's crisis could quickly become a global problem. The Huthis have been closely linked with Iran, which already overlooks another maritime chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz linking the Gulf with the Arabian Sea. If the militia takes control of Bab al-Mandab, "Iran would be the main winner," said Bassem al-Hakimi, a Yemeni political expert. - 38% of maritime trade - He said such a move would give Tehran an additional "card to play in the negotiations over its nuclear programme" with world powers. There is no doubt that the seizure of coastal areas on the strait would raise international concern. Both the United States and France maintain a military presence on the other side of the strait in Djibouti, and for Egypt the strait is of crucial importance. Egypt's ambassador to Yemen, Youssef al-Sharqawi, warned recently that threats to Bab al-Mandab would be a "red line" for Cairo. "More than 38 percent of global maritime trade passes through the strait," he told reporters in Aden. "The national security of Yemen is closely linked to the security of the Red Sea, the Gulf and Bab al-Mandab." Israel has also raised concerns, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning of an Iranian threat to the strait in a speech to the US Congress earlier this month. "Backed by Iran, Huthis are seizing control of Yemen, threatening the strategic straits at the mouth of the Red Sea. Along with the Straits of Hormuz, that would give Iran a second chokepoint on the world's oil supply," he said. But some experts are sceptical about any danger to the strait posed by the Huthi advance. "The whole thing is a total red herring," said Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran and associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank. Dalton said there was no reason to believe that Tehran -- whose links with the Huthis he said have been exaggerated -- would want to complicate shipping through the strait. "The Iranians are pro-free passage and they play by the rules. They want to be respected so it is unlikely that either Iran or the Huthi movement would seek to disrupt shipping there," he added. ============= Houthis seize strategic Yemeni city, escalating power struggle Sun, Mar 22 17:34 PM EDT image 1 of 7 By Mohammed Mukhashef ADEN (Reuters) - Houthi fighters opposed to Yemen's president took over the central city of Taiz in an escalation of a power struggle diplomats say risks drawing in neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia and its main regional rival Iran. Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, head of the powerful Shi'ite Muslim group, vowed to pursue Sunni militants behind suicide attacks on Houthi supporters and said the poor Arabian peninsula country was in danger of descending into Libya-style turmoil. In a live televised speech, Houthi said his decision to mobilize fighters amid accelerating violence in recent days was aimed at Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for bombings that killed more than 130 in the capital, Sanaa, on Friday, and al Qaeda. Conflict has been spreading across Yemen since last year when the Houthis seized Sanaa and effectively removed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who now seeks a comeback from his base in Aden. Residents of Taiz, on a main road from Sanaa to the country's second city, Aden, said Houthi militias took over the city's military airport without a struggle late on Saturday. Witnesses in the central province of Ibb reported seeing dozens of tanks and military vehicles headed southward from Houthi-controlled areas toward Taiz, while activists in the city said Houthi gunmen shot into the air to disperse protests by residents demonstrating against their presence. The advance of the Iranian-backed group has angered Sunni Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia. The Houthi expansion into mostly Sunni areas in the center and west has led to months of clashes with local tribes and al Qaeda, raising fears of civil war. INTERVENTION The U.N. mediator on Yemen said on Sunday that recent events "seem to be leading Yemen further away from a peaceful settlement and towards the edge of civil war." Saying it was illusory to think Houthi militia could take over all of Yemen or that Hadi could assemble enough troops to take back the country, mediator Jamal Benomar told the Security Council: "Any side that would want to push the country in either direction would be inviting a protracted conflict in the vein of an Iraq-Libya-Syria combined scenario." The Security Council condemned the takeover of much of Yemen and its institutions by the Houthis and warned of "further measures" if hostilities did not end. Iran called for dialogue, but suggested Hadi should leave to spare the country further bloodshed. "The expectation is that President ... Hadi will resign rather than repeat mistakes, to play a constructive role in preventing the breakup of Yemen and the transformation of Aden into a terrorist haven," said Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, according to state news agency IRNA. But Gulf Arab leaders and security officials said on Saturday Hadi was Yemen's legitimate ruler and they were ready to make "all efforts" to defend the country's security. "Yemen is sliding into a dark tunnel, which would have serious consequences not only on Yemen but on security and stability in the region," the officials, who included Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, said. "The security of Yemen and of the GCC countries is an indivisible whole," it added. ESCALATING VIOLENCE On Sunday, anti-aircraft guns opened fire at an unidentified plane flying over Hadi's compound in Aden, witnesses said, in the third incident of its kind since last Thursday. U.S. officials said Washington had evacuated its remaining personnel from Yemen, including about 100 special operations forces, because of worsening security, marking a setback in U.S. efforts against a powerful al Qaeda branch. The Houthis are allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, still influential in the military despite having given up power in 2011 after mass protests against his rule. The Yemeni army has varied loyalties, with most units being controlled by the Houthis or Saleh, while some are loyal to Hadi. In his speech, Houthi criticized the U.N. Security Council, saying it was led by countries plotting "evil" against others. He also accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar - two among several Gulf Arab states opposed to the Houthis' rise to power - of fomenting "destruction" inside and outside the region. (Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi, Noah Browning, Mohammed Ghobari, Angus McDowall and Sam Wilkin, and Michelle Nichols at United Nations; Writing by William Maclean,; Editing by) ============================================ Houthis take parts of Yemeni city, Hadi sees 'coup' Sun, Mar 22 06:22 AM EDT By Mohammed Mukhashef ADEN (Reuters) - Houthi fighters opposed to Yemen's president seized parts of the country's third largest city of Taiz amid growing concern about a conflict diplomats say risks drawing in neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia and its main regional rival Iran. The U.N. Security Council was set to meet to discuss Yemen after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a U.S. ally, accused the Iranian-allied Houthi militia of staging a coup against him and appealed to the United Nations for “urgent intervention”. U.S. officials said Washington had evacuated its remaining personnel from Yemen, including about 100 special operations forces, because of worsening security, marking a setback in U.S. efforts against a powerful al Qaeda branch. Conflict has been spreading across Yemen since last year when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and removed Hadi from effective control of the state, angering Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, which regards the Shi'ite movement as a terrorist group. The Houthis then advanced into Sunni Muslim areas, leading to clashes with local tribes and al Qaeda and energizing a southern separatist movement. In Taiz, located on a main road from the capital Sanaa to the country's second city of Aden, residents said that Houthi militias took over the city's military airport from local authorities late on Saturday. PROTESTS The fighters also took control of a number of government buildings and a prison, they said. The takeover of the airport happened without a struggle, but later eyewitnesses reported Houthi gunmen firing tear gas and shooting into the air to disperse protests by residents demonstrating against the presence of Houthi forces. Eyewitnesses in the central province of Ibb described to Reuters seeing a column of dozens of tanks and military vehicles traveling from the Houthi-loyalist north on their way southward toward Taiz, 150 km (200 miles) northwest of Aden. On Sunday, anti-aircraft guns opened fire at an unidentified plane flying over Hadi's compound in Aden and appeared to force it away, witnesses said. It was the third incident of its kind in four days, in which aircraft have flown over the compound, where Hadi is based, on one occasion dropping bombs without causing any casualties. Aden's governor Abdulaziz bin Habtoor has accused the Houthi movement of ordering the flights over Aden, an allegation the group, which controls much of the north, has yet to address. The Houthis are allied with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still has influence in the military despite having given up power in 2011 after mass protests against his rule. The Yemeni army has varied loyalties, with most units being controlled by the Houthis or Saleh, while some are loyal to Hadi. (Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi, Noah Browning, Angus McDowall, writing by William Maclean, editing by Louise Heavens) ================================== Haykal Bafana ‏@BaFana3 · 17m17 minutes ago Yemen | Hadi's Lahj frontline has 300km of border for possible Houthi incursions from Taiz, Al Baydha' and Al Dhale. Yes, Al Dhale'. #Yemen's South is extremely complicated. I doubt Hadi has enough army units & militia to defend this extended front. Tuesday, 24 March 2015 at 12:30:00 AM Yemeni president demands Houthis quit Sanaa amid new fighting Sat, Mar 21 13:31 PM EDT image By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Saturday accused the Iranian-allied Houthi militia that controls the capital Sanaa of staging a coup against him, and said he would "raise Yemen's flag" in the Houthis' northern stronghold. In a call to arms from the southern city of Aden, where he fled last month after escaping house arrest by the Houthis, Hadi called on them to pull their forces out of state ministries, return weapons seized from the army, and quit Sanaa. "We shall deliver the country to safety and raise Yemen's flag on Mount Marran in Saadeh instead of the Iranian flag," he said in a televised speech, his first since reaching Aden. Iran is an ally of the Houthis, who belong to a Shi'ite Muslim sect. The Houthis, in a statement from their Supreme Revolutionary Committee, did not directly respond to the speech but called for a "general mobilization" of the armed forces against a "dirty war" they said was being waged by militias loyal to Hadi. Yemen has been hurtling towards civil war since last year when the Houthis seized Sanaa and advanced into Sunni areas, leading to clashes with local tribes and energizing a southern separatist movement. Hadi's flight to Aden has raised the prospect of armed confrontation between rival governments based in the north and south, creating chaos that could be exploited by the Yemen-based regional wing of al Qaeda. Fighting is spreading across the country, and 137 people were killed on Friday in the bombings of two Shi'ite mosques in Sanaa. They were claimed by Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and said it was also behind an attack that killed 23 people in Tunisia on Wednesday. CALL FOR PEACE TALKS Hadi held open the door to a negotiated settlement with a call for the Houthis and other groups to attend peace talks in Saudi Arabia. He said Yemen must return to the political situation in place before the Houthis took control of Sanaa, restoring its constitution and implementing the results of a national dialogue process and Gulf-sponsored political transition. In his speech, he denounced the Houthis as "coup plotters" and said he wanted to confront sectarianism. Addressing Houthi accusations that he planned to back a southern secessionist movement, he said his flight to Aden had been intended to preserve the country's unity. Unidentified warplanes have bombed Hadi's Aden headquarters in recent days, and on Saturday forces loyal to the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is now allied to the Houthis, moved units to Taiz, 150 km (100 miles) northwest of Aden. In a reflection of the deteriorating security situation, Washington was withdrawing the last 100 of the special forces troops it had deployed to Yemen to conduct operations against al Qaeda and allied groups, CNN reported, citing sources in the region. Washington has been waging a drone war against the militants, who have alarmed Western and Gulf countries with their efforts to bomb international airliners and launch cross-border raids into top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. On Friday, al Qaeda militants killed 20 soldiers during a brief occupation of al-Houta, the capital of Lahj province, which is only 30 km (20 miles) from Aden, before being driven back by the army. There were also clashes between the Houthis and local tribes in the oil-producing area on the border of the Marib and al-Bayda provinces, which left 12 dead, according to tribal sources. Gunmen fired on anti-Houthi protesters in Taiz on Saturday, but no casualties were reported. Later on Saturday, Hadi appointed health minister Riyadh Yassin as acting foreign minister, Al Jazeera news reported. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari and Omar Fahmy in Cairo.; Writing by Angus McDowall in Riyadh; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Trevelyan) ================================= Suicide bombers kill 137 in Yemen mosque attacks Fri, Mar 20 19:22 PM EDT image 1 of 3 By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohammed Mukhashaf SANAA/ADEN (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed at least 137 worshippers and wounded hundreds more during Friday prayers at two mosques in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, in coordinated attacks claimed by Islamic State. The attacks on mosques used by supporters of the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi fighters who control the city were the deadliest in a years-long campaign of violence in the country, where Washington has been waging a drone air war against a local branch of the Sunni Muslim militant group al Qaeda. Sectarian unrest has increased in recent months after the Iran-backed Shi'ite fighters seized the capital last year. Four bombers wearing explosive belts targeted worshippers in and around the crowded mosques. State news agency Saba, which is controlled by the Houthis, put the death toll at 137 and the number of wounded at 357. Hospitals were overwhelmed, appealing for blood donors to help treat the large number of casualties. A Reuters journalist at the Badr mosque counted at least 25 bloody bodies lying in the street and inside the building. One man carried a child in his arms. Islamic State, the al Qaeda offshoot that controls swathes of Syria and Iraq and has been attracting followers in other countries, considers Shi'ites to be heretics. Both groups have now rallied against the Houthis in Yemen, giving them the same enemies as the U.S.-backed government in a complex, multi-sided conflict in the Arab world's poorest country. "Let the polytheist Houthis know that the soldiers of the Islamic State will not rest and will not stay still until they extirpate them," the group said in a statement posted by supporters on Twitter, claiming responsibility for the attacks. "God willing, this operation is only a part of the coming flood." Among the dead was Almortada al-Mahatwary, a leading figure in Yemen's Shi'ite Zaidi sect, the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah television channel said. Badr mosque was hit by two bombers and two others struck a second mosque. A fifth bomber was killed when he tried to attack a mosque in Saada province, a northern Houthi stronghold, but the device went off prematurely, a security source told Reuters. "I was going to pray at the (Badr) mosque then I heard the first explosion, and a second later I heard another one," a witness told Reuters. Television footage showed young men in traditional Yemeni clothes carrying lifeless bodies, some dripping with blood, out of the mosque. In Washington, the White House condemned the bombings and said it could not confirm that the attackers were affiliated with Islamic State. HURTLING TOWARD CIVIL WAR Yemen has been hurtling toward civil war since last year, when the Houthis seized most of the north, including Sanaa. President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a U.S. ally, fled the capital in February after a month imprisoned by the Houthis under house arrest and has set up a power base in the southern city of Aden. Unidentified warplanes have attacked his Aden palace for the past two days. Anti-aircraft guns fired on two planes that dropped bombs on an area that includes his residence on Friday. He was unharmed, sources at the presidency said. While Yemen is one of the main bases of al Qaeda, it has not previously been known as a major base for Islamic State, the Al Qaeda offshoot also known as ISIS or ISIL. Since last year, when Islamic State swept across northern Iraq and declared a caliphate to rule over all Muslims, militants in other countries have expressed their support for the group, although it is not clear if it actually directs them. In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there was no clear operational link between the people who carried out Friday's attacks in Yemen and Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned "the terrorist attacks" and called on all sides "to immediately cease all hostile actions and exercise maximum restraint." Yemen has been sliding into turmoil since its long serving ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh was toppled after "Arab Spring" protests that began in 2011. Saleh is now believed to have allied himself with the Houthi fighters that he tried to crush while president. Since fleeing the capital, Hadi has been trying to consolidate his hold over Aden to challenge the Houthis' ambitions to control the whole country. Thirteen people were killed on Thursday when forces loyal to Hadi fought their way into Aden's international airport and wrested an adjacent military base from a renegade officer, Aden governor Abdulaziz bin Habtoor said. (Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi in Dubai and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Peter Graff and John Stonestreet) ====== Suicide bombers attack Shiite mosques in Yemen, killing dozens Date March 20, 2015 - 10:45PM 63 reading now People injured in the bomb attack inside a mosque in Sanaa. Photo: Khaled Abdullah Suicide bombers attacked two mosques in Yemen's capital Sanaa during Friday prayers, the local Al-Azal television channel said, amid spiralling sectarian clashes. At least 55 people were killed in the attacks on the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques, Agence France-Presse reported, citing emergency services. The mosques are controlled by supporters of the Shiite Houthi group that seized the capital in September after consolidating their grip on the north of the country. The attack came one day after President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi was evacuated from his palace in Aden during intense gun battles between his fighters and rival troops loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The fighting in the southern city, which marked a major escalation in the country's conflict, left at least 15 dead. Mr Hadi fled to Aden last month seeking to re-assert his authority from the south and the city had been relatively quiet since. His presidency was backed by the mainly Sunni states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The conflict threatens to split Yemen and political instability may allow al-Qaeda to expand its operations in the impoverished nation. One witness said he heard two successive blasts at one of the mosques, known as Badr mosque, in a busy neighbourhood in central Sanaa. "I was going to pray at the mosque then heard the first explosion, and a second later I heard another one," the witness told Reuters. Hospitals in Sanaa were appealing for blood donors to help treat the large number of casualties. The rise to power of the Iran-backed Houthis since September last year has deepened divisions in Yemen's complex web of political and religious allegiances, and left the country increasingly cut off from the outside world. ================= resident supporters and opponents halts Aden flights (Reuters) - Clashes broke out between militia loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and rival security forces on Thursday near the airport in the southern city of Aden, bringing air traffic to a halt, local officials said. They said both sides used medium and light weapons in the fighting near a base that is used by special forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an ally of the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen. The fighting around the base in the Khor Maksar district of Aden spread to residential districts and prompted roads to the airport to be closed. There were no details on casualties in the clashes. Airport authorities could not immediately be reached for comment. The rise to power of the Iran-backed Houthis since September has deepened divisions in Yemen's complex web of political and religious allegiances, and left the country increasingly cut off from the outside world. Tensions have been heightened in Aden since Hadi fled there in February after escaping a month of house arrest in Sanaa by Houthi forces who seized the capital in September 2014. Hadi has been trying to consolidate his control over Aden since he fled there, ordering the sacking of the commander of the city's garrison, General Abdel-Hafez al-Saqqaf, and replacing him with one of his officers. Saqqaf, however, has refused to hand over command of the force, estimated between 1,500-2,000 troops culminating in a standoff. (Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf, writing by Sami Aboudi, Editing by William Maclean and Michael Perry)

Talks on new Yemeni government collapse over Shi'ite Houthi subsidy demands

Al Qaeda attacks kill at least 33 people in Yemen Mon, Oct 20 15:09 PM EDT By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - At least 33 people were killed in a suicide bombing and gun attacks in central Yemen, tribal sources and medics said on Monday, as al Qaeda fighters seized a Yemeni city in a new challenge to the central government. Violence has spread in Yemen since Shi'ite Muslim Houthis took over the capital, Sanaa, last month, threatening the stability of a country that borders on Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter. Houthi forces have fanned out into central and western Yemen, posing a challenge to Sunni tribesmen and al Qaeda militants, who regard the Houthis as heretics. Fighting has flared in several provinces. In the latest attacks, an al Qaeda suicide bomber drove a car towards the home of a local government official in the town of Radda in al-Bayda province, killing at least 13 people, medical sources said. Ansar al-Sahrai, an al Qaeda affiliate, said in a statement the attack targeted a meeting at a Houthi leader's house and that "dozens were killed or wounded". Earlier in the day, tribal sources said al-Sharia fighters on Sunday night shelled a Radda house where a local Houthi leader lives, killing gunmen. At least 10 Houthi fighters were killed in two other incidents, one on the outskirts of Radda and another at a checkpoint in the nearby Ibb province, tribal sources said. Ansar al-Sharia said in a report from the al-Orsh area in al-Bayda that "dozens of Houthis" have been killed or wounded in battles since Sunday evening, and that two of its fighters were killed in Ibb. Radda, with a population of 60,000, has long been a stronghold of Ansar, which includes many fighters from local tribes who are up in arms over the presence of Houthi rebels in the mainly Sunni region. There is growing international concern about Yemen's turmoil because of its proximity to Saudi Arabia and international shipping lanes, as well as the risk of al Qaeda using the country as a springboard for attacks abroad. QAEDA INSURGENTS SEIZED MAJOR TOWN In a significant development, residents and activists said al Qaeda fighters had marched into al-Odayn, a city of 200,000 in the central province of Ibb, captured the local government offices and raised their black and white flag over it. "They came in at midday, invaded the town, chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Greater) and seized the government compound unopposed," one resident of al-Odayn said. Residents also said Sunni militants destroyed the home of a local Houthi member who had been trying to recruit local fighters to join a popular committee, a kind of a grassroots police force Houthis have established in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula country. The Houthis' advance and clashes with Ansar al-Sharia prompted often faction-ridden regional Sunni tribesmen to close ranks to try to protect themselves. In a statement issued on Sunday, a committee of local tribesmen warned that they would not tolerate the presence of "any armed militia from any party" in al-Bayda province and called on the central government to step in to maintain order. "The state must carry out its national duty to spare the province of sectarian strife," said the statement, which was obtained by Reuters. The Yemeni armed forces have largely avoided confronting the Houthis since they moved into Sanaa last month, leading to speculation that President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was tacitly allowing the group to move freely while a new government is being formed. Whether it would command more authority than the last one is questionable, however. While the Houthis signed a power-sharing pact with other political parties, that has not deterred them from thrusting into other regions of Yemen. In a further sign of gathering chaos, al Qaeda militants on Monday raided the Um al-Maghareb military airport in the eastern province of Hadramout province, not far from the Saudi border, and looted equipment, military and security sources said. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Larry King) ================================ Talks on new Yemeni government collapse over Shi'ite Houthi subsidy demands Sun, Aug 24 08:00 AM EDT image 1 of 5 By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Talks on forming a new Yemeni government collapsed on Sunday over demands by Shi'ite Muslim Houthis to restore fuel subsidies cut by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, officials said, and further demonstrations in the capital Sanaa were expected. The Houthis, who have been fighting for years for more power for their Zaydi Shi'ite Muslim sect in north Yemen, have massed tens of thousands of supporters on the outskirts of Sanaa to press the government to quit and to restore fuel subsidies. The government offered on Saturday to resign within a month to pave the way for a technocrat administration that would review the fuel subsidy issue, but officials said the Houthis had demanded an immediate reinstatement of the subsidies. The standoff has raised fears for the stability of Yemen, a majority Sunni Muslim country of 25 million that is allied with the United States and borders major oil exporter Saudi Arabia. The government blamed the Houthis for the failure of talks. "The Houthis have reneged on all previous understandings, including joining a new government and an offer to reduce the price of oil products, at the first government meeting," Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafi, a spokesman for the government committee assigned to negotiate with the Houthis, told Reuters. "They have threatened to escalate (their protests) if the decision to raise fuel prices is not cancelled," he added. Daifallah al-Shami, a leader of the Houthi group, made clear the demand for reinstating fuel subsidies was non-negotiable for his side and said the peaceful protests would continue. "(Reversing the increase in fuel prices) is a popular demand and cannot be abandoned," Shami told Reuters. "No other issues can be discussed." MORE RALLIES PLANNED Rival demonstrations are scheduled to take place in Sanaa later on Sunday, one by Houthi loyalists and one by supporters of President Hadi, but residents said they did not expect the two to come into contact with each other. Hadi has put the army on a state of heightened alert to tackle any resort to violence during the Sanaa demonstrations. The Houthis have been emboldened by recent military gains against rival Sunni Muslim tribesmen and allied government troops north of the capital. In a report on their website on Sunday, the Houthis said that one of their members had been killed and three wounded in an attack by Sunni Islamist gunmen on one of their offices in eastern Sanaa on Saturday. The al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia said in messages posted on social media that two of its members had been killed in the incident. Yemen's Gulf neighbours and Western partners, which helped the country stave off civil war in 2011, have watched the dispute between Sanaa and the Houthis with mounting concern. Last week, they urged the Houthis to stop trying to gain territory by force and to engage in a political transition process. The government's decision last month to raise fuel prices was part of efforts to rein in its budget deficit and helped the impoverished Arab state to conclude talks on a $560 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).. Last year, it spent about $3 billion on the fuel subsidies, nearly a third of all state revenues. The Houthis, whose protests began last Monday, have pitched tents on a road leading to the airport near to key ministries. Their protests have tapped into wider public anger among Yemenis over the subsidy cuts. A previous attempt to cut subsidies, in 2005, led to unrest in which about 20 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. The reform was cancelled. (Reporting by Mohamed Ghobari; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Gareth Jones) =============================== Sunni tribesmen and Houthi fighters clash in Yemen, 15 dead Fri, Oct 17 14:06 PM EDT image 1 of 2 SANAA (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed in heavy fighting between Sunni Muslim tribesmen and Shi'ite Houthi rebels in central Yemen on Friday, increasing fears of outright sectarian warfare. The Houthi rebels also entered Radaa city, in the central province of al-Bayda, a bastion of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), local officials and residents said. The Houthis established themselves as Yemen's new powerbrokers last month, capturing the capital Sanaa on Sept. 21 to little resistance from residents or from the weak administration of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Their ascendance has angered al Qaeda, which views Shi'ites as heretics and Houthis as pawns of Iran. Last week, AQAP claimed a suicide bombing on a Houthi gathering that killed at least 47 people. In Friday's fighting, medical sources said 15 people from both sides were killed on the outskirts and inside the city of Ibb, 150 km (90 miles) south of Sanaa. "We are hearing the sound of machine-guns and mortars everywhere," a resident told Reuters by telephone. The city of Ibb borders al-Bayda province. Al Qaeda said in a statement that its fighters had stormed the town of Odein, near Ibb on Wednesday, killing three soldiers and holding it for nine hours before withdrawing. Houthi fighters have been making advances outside of Sanaa in recent days, taking over cities and towns with the apparent agreement of the authorities there. At least 10 people were killed on Thursday in fighting between Houthi tribesmen and al Qaeda-linked militants. In addition to the rise of AQAP and the Houthi takeover of Sanaa, Yemen, an impoverished country of 25 million people, faces a secessionist movement in the south. The widespread and growing instability has alarmed neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and other Gulf Arab states. Western and Gulf Arab countries have supported a U.N.-backed political transition since 2012 led by Hadi and meant to shepherd the country to stability after decades of autocracy. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Gareth Jones) =======================