Saudi bombing campaign helps to produce a humanitarian disaster in Yemen

After almost a month of bombing missions led by Saudi Arabia, which, mimicking US euphemisms, was called "Operation Decisive Storm," the Saudis announced they would end the bombing several weeks ago.

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A new mission was announced "Operation Renewal of Hope" which was to focus on the political process. Operation Decisive Storm was to end at midnight on Tuesday April 21: Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Asiri, the coalition's spokesperson, said on Tuesday that the coalition had achieved its military goals in Yemen and a new operation, called "Renewal of Hope", would aim to protect civilians and combat "terrorism".

The new operation started at midnight on Tuesday local time (22:00 GMT).Within a couple of hours bombing of Yemen began anew. The bombing has continued ever since, no doubt with the aim of protecting civilians and focusing on the political process.

The manner in which these raids protect civilians is illustrated by this report from a night attack Friday:Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition struck a residential district of the Yemeni capital Sanaa overnight, killing eight to 10 civilians, residents said on Friday.Saba, the state news agency, of the Houthi rebels put the number killed in the Sawan district of Sanaa at 20 with more than 50 wounded. While many residents oppose the Houthi occupation, the Saudi bombings are unlikely to make many friends.

As a way of further showing their concern for protecting civilians the Saudis bombed the runway at the Sanaa airport several days ago to prevent an Iranian cargo plane from landing after it refused to obey orders from the coalition not to land. The Saudi-led coalition has established its own no-fly zone. The damage to the runway has prevented aid planes from landing. The Iranians claim that the plane was carrying aid. Even if it had weapons surely the plane could have been allowed to land and an attack made wherever the weapons were taken or there could have been an attack on those transporting them. The Saudi action made the humanitarian disaster even worse.

The UN World Food Programme(WFP) urged all those involved in the conflict to allow aid agencies and the commercial sector to bring fuel and food into the country. Violence has blocked shipments of food, fuel, and medical supplies. All airports are closed to civilian traffic and some such as the one at Sanaa have come under direct attack. Naval shipments are being delayed as well. Secretary General Bank K-moon called for an immediate ceasefire to allow for aid to be delivered. More than 1,200 have been killed so far in the conflict with 300,000 more fleeing their homes to avoid the violence.

Russia has pushed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the UN Security Council but it was not supported in the Council even though all countries agree the bombings and clashes have created a humanitarian disaster and many aid groups claim they will have to leave Yemen in a few days because they have no supplies to run their operations. The US apparently will only support a resolution that "insists the Saudis are totally blameless for the humanitarian crisis, and that it is the Yemeni Shiite Houthis who are at fault." The point should be to stop the fighting not apportion blame. This is not just a Sunni Shiite conflict either, the Shia rebels could never have gone as far as they have without the support of former president Saleh, to whom many in the Yemeni armed forces are loyal. Given recent developments that include more bombings in Yemen I would suggest that the two operations "Decisive Storm" and "Renewal of Hope" be combined into "Operation Decisive Hopelessness."

Saudis claim an end to "Decisive Storm" bombing raids on Yemen

"Operation Decisive Storm" a Saudi-led bombing operation targeting Houthi rebels who control much of Yemen will be ended after nearly a month.

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The old operation will replaced by a new one called "Operation Restoring Hope" according to Saudi state-run television. The Saudis are aiming to restore the former president Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of both the Saudis and other Arab states in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and of the United States. Brigadier Gen. Ahmed Assiri, a spokesperson for the Saudi military, said the campaign had achieved its objectives "by a very good planning, very precise execution, by the courage of our pilots, our sailors, our soldiers."

Those killed and who had their houses destroyed in the bombings may question the "precise execution" of the bombings:At least 46 people are dead tonight and several hundred others wounded after Saudi warplanes launched attacks on the outskirts of a missile depot in the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa.No military casualties were reported in the strikes, which set off a string of explosions around residential neighborhoods in Sanaa. Many of the casualties were from explosions blowing out windows in people’s homes.Saudi officials responded to the heavy death toll with no military casualties by claiming the fact that the strikes had caused explosions showed that Houthi rebels had stored small arms in the area.This means that the Saudis will bomb a military target even though they know quite well it will cause multiple civilian casualties because of its location. Saudi officials claim that their airstrikes have degraded Houthi military infrastructure, including key buildings in Sanaa. This may be true but the Houthis are far from beaten and the Saudis may be degrading their support among many Yemenis opposed to the Houthis by the destruction and casualties caused by the bombings.

Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Assiri, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said that the "Restoration of Hope" operation would aim at protecting civilians and combating "terrorism." The month long bombings could have combated terrorism by bombing Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) as they took control of the capital of Hadramawt province Mukala and seized a huge amount of weapons from military facilities. Instead the Saudis bombed urban areas in Sanaa, Taiz, and Aden, controlled by Houthis. Operation Restoration of Hope is said to be a "combination of political, diplomatic, and military action."

As if from another planet, al-Assiri went on:"The coalition has completed the 'Decisive Storm' campaign at the request of the Yemeni government and the President of Yemen. The primary goals of the campaign have been achieved and sovereignty has been protected. We are able to confirm that the Houthis are no longer a threat to Yemenis or neighbouring countries. The Yemeni government will now undertake all necessary actions to start rebuilding the country."The sovereign leaders have not set foot in Yemen and dare not as yet. The sovereign officials are far off in the safety of the Saudi capital Riyad. A naval blockade of Yemen will continue to stop the flow of weapons to the Houthis. As with AQAP the Houthis no doubt capture many weapons supplied to the Hadi government by the US and others.

Al Jazeera correspondent, Mohamed Vall, reporting from the Saudi Yemen border noted that there had been signs that Saudi policy was changing:"Iranian officials were optimistic of a ceasefire earlier in the day with US naval ships arriving in the region and greater levels of contact between the US and the Saudi monarchy. Most likely Iran, Saudi Arabia and others have come to some kind of agreement on the conflict."

The US had been attempting to persuade the Saudis for several days to let up on their bombings of Yemeni cities.They have sent warships to help patrol the waters off Yemen.

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Zarif, has called for dialogue with the US and Western allies to help solve the crisis in Yemen. Iran had actually advised the Houthis against seizing the capital last September. Iran hoped that a political solution could be found in which the Houthis were able to negotiate a government agreeable to them. Instead no agreement was reached even after they seized the capital back last September. Since then they have extended their reign over much of the country even though they are a minority in Yemen and cannot hope to rule on their own. However, former president Saleh and troops loyal to him have helped the Houthi advance even to the southern port of Aden possible. Some of those fighting in Aden, I notice in photos, fly the southern separatist flag of South Yemen not the national flag, an ominous sign that separatists who are fighting the Houthis may not support a return of Hadi.

There is unlikely to be a ceasefire in areas controlled by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but there could possibly be at least cessation of hostilities in most areas where the Houthis are facing others. The Houthis themselves may realize they cannot win control of the country. The World Health Organization(WHO) estimates that just between March 19 and April 17, hostilities have killed 944 people and wounded 3,487. WHO warned health services in Yemen were on the point of collapse:"Major hospitals will soon be completely unable to provide humanitarian and emergency services or to perform operations and provide intensive care to needy patients.This increases the risk of communicable diseases such as measles, which is prevalent in Yemen, as well as polio, which has been eliminated but is now at risk of reappearing,"Even a pause in the fighting would help alleviate the humanitarian situation.

UPDATE: Some bombing has continued. Several raids took place just hours after the end of bombing was announced.

Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen and amasses troops on border ready to invade

Latest reports are that up to 150,000 Saudi troops have massed at the border with Yemen together with heavy artillery. There are a number of allies supporting the Saudis including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Egypt.

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The Saudis have already carried out bombing attacks. The attacks were against Shia military camps in Sanaa. One attack was on the al-Dalamy air force base adjacent to the civil airport. Rescue workers said at least 15 houses had been destroyed at the civilian compound at the airport. Rescuers had found 25 bodies by Thursday afternoon but said more might be in the rubble. Egypt confirmed that it has a number of troops on transport ships off the Yemen coast who plan to join the invasion.

The US confirmed both that it was in contact with the Saudi government and that President Obama has given permission for the Pentagon to provide the Saudis with logistical and intelligence support. General Lloyd Austin, head of US forces in the region, said that the US would aid in keeping the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the very tip of the Red Sea open to ensure shipments through the Suez canal are not threatened: "We would work in conjunction with our GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) partners to ensure that those straits remain open."

The Saudis struck an air force base near an oil field east of the capital Sanaa, destroying a radar station as air strikes were extended on Friday. The air campaign, that has been code-named "Operation Decisive Storm", is said to be targeting military commands, air defenses, and communications facilities.

President Hadi apparently has left Aden, where he was located, and gone to the safety of the Saudi capital Ryadh.

The Houthis advanced from their northern stronghold to the south capturing Sanaa last fall.The Houthis are allied with the former president Ali Saleh who still has strong influence in the armed forces. When talks failed to produce a government acceptable to the Houthis, they took control and are setting up their own government.

The Houthis are a minority Shia group and it will be difficult for them to gain control of the southern areas where Sunnis predominate. In some areas, Sunni tribes are allying with the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) to resist the Houthi advance. The Houthis are supported by Iran but it is not clear how much support they are getting. Many Arab states in the middle east are pursuing a more aggressive policy in the area often with the open or tacit support of the United States:The oil-rich Sunni Arab states of the Persian Gulf, longtime U.S. allies, have pursued more assertive foreign policies in recent years, sending troops to crush a pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain and taking part in U.S.-led strikes against Islamic State in Syria. They’re seeking to ward off perceived threats to their absolute monarchies, especially from Shiite groups or from Sunni Islamist movements that seek power via the ballot box, such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Saudis and others also worry about the increasing influence of Iran in the region.

The coalition plans will no doubt receive the blessing of the Arab League at an upcoming meeting. Five of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations have signed on to the military action with Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain joining the Saudi operation. However, Oman, Yemen's neighbor to the east has said it will not take part.