Yemeni Houthi rebels and their allies yesterday agreed to a five-day humanitarian ceasefire beginning tomorrow as Saudi military aircraft intensified strikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa. The residence of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has sided with the Houthis in the ongoing battle, was demolished in the strikes.
Saleh reportedly survived the bombing, which damaged nearby homes and shocked the populace.
Saudi aircraft also struck the runway of Sanaa’s international airport, where relief flights were due to land with desperately needed supplies of food, medicine and fuel, as well as conducting heavy bombing raids against the Houthi stronghold of Saada province.
Médicins San Frontières (MSF) spokeswoman Teresa Sancristoval, who had been in Saada until Saturday, said it "was one of the worst days. There was mass bombing of the city, with a high number of dead. The people were given only four hours to flee [before bombing began]. Many had no transport. Telecommunications were cut [so many were unaware of the ultimatum]. There was no news on radio or television" due to the lack of electricity.
Many civilians had to leave on foot, while others cowered in their homes. Saudi bombs have hit schools, hospitals, markets and residential areas.
Humanitarian law
United Nations humanitarian co-ordinator Johannes Van Der Klaauw said: “The targeting of an entire governorate will put countless civilians at risk. The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is a contravention of international humanitarian law.”
MSF medical co-ordinator in Yemen Llanos Ortiz said: "There is . . . the risk of creating an exodus of thousands of people towards the mountains south of Saada, where humanitarian aid will not reach time in time . . . All airports in the country have been destroyed by coalition air strikes, which could provoke an even greater humanitarian disaster than the one we are already facing."
UN-chartered ships carrying fuel have arrived in the Yemeni port of Hodeida, providing means for delivering aid. Fuel is also needed to pump water and provide power to hospitals.
Vow to respond
The Houthis vowed to respond to violations of the truce by forces ranged against them, including Saudi-backed forces of exiled president Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, al-Qaeda, other jihadi groups and South Yemeni separatists.
More than 1,400 people – half civilians – have been killed since March 26th, when Saudi Arabia launched its offensive against Zaydi Shia Houthis, who had seized control of Sanaa and driven Mr Hadi from power. Sunni Saudis claim the Houthis are supported by Shia Iran, making the Yemen conflict a Sunni- Shia proxy war for regional hegemony.
International experts argue, however, that Iranian assistance to the Houthis has been declaratory rather than material. Most of their weapons have been captured from regular army arsenals, enabling the Houthis to advance in spite of bombardment.
Although Riyadh had declared an end to the aerial campaign on April 21st, it has escalated strikes ahead of the ceasefire, with the aim of forcing the Houthis to retreat to Saada to defend their turf.
The Saudis may have miscalculated. A tribal people, determined to take revenge, the Houthis could respond by seizing fresh territory and launching attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia. Last week, rebels captured five Saudi soldiers and fired mortars into the Saudi town of Najran, killing two civilians and compelling the authorities to close schools and suspend flights to the local airport.
Having failed between 1962 and 1970 to reinstate a Zaydi Shia ruler overthrown by republican officers, the Saudis appear to have forgotten the adage “Nobody has ever won a war in Yemen”, a mountainous country inhabited by tough, independent tribesman who resist external inference.
