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Iran and Turkey back political solution to Yemen crisis

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Iranian president tells his visiting Turkish counterpart ceasefire in Yemen “must be established” and strikes halted.

iran-turkey

by Al Jazeera

Turkey and Iran agree on the need for a political solution to end Yemen’s war, which has raised tensions between them, Iran’s president has said after talks with his visiting Turkish counterpart.

“We talked about Iraq, Syria, Palestine … We had a long discussion about Yemen. We both think war and bloodshed must stop in this area immediately and a complete ceasefire must be established and the strikes must stop” in Yemen, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said during a joint news conference broadcast by state television.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made no remarks about Yemen, where Houthi rebels and their allies – widely believed to be supported by Tehran – are battling forces loyal to embattled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, while a Saudi-led coalition is bombing the rebels’ positions.

Erdogan, however, talked at length about bilateral relations with Iran, which has condemned the strikes. Turkey supports the aerial bombardment, which began on March 26.

Rouhani said he hoped the two countries, “with the help of other countries in the region” would contribute to “peace, stability, a broader government and dialogue” between Yemenis.

“We agree on the fact that instability, insecurity and war must cease throughout the region,” he said.

Erdogan denounced at the end of March what he called Iran’s will for “domination” in Yemen, calling on Tehran to “withdraw all its forces from Yemen, Syria and Iraq”.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, reacted by accusing Turkey of causing instability in the Middle East.

Erdogan, a former close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, supported the uprising in Syria and backed rebels fighting Assad’s government. Iran supports the Syrian government.

Several ministers accompanied Erdogan, who also met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during his one-day visit.

‘Expensive gas’

Despite the tensions, the neighbouring countries want to strengthen trade to $30bn in 2015.

Erdogan pointed out that the balance of trade was unfavourable to Turkey, since “Iran exports $10bn and imports only $4bn in Turkish products”.

“The gas we buy from Iran is the most expensive. If the price drops we can buy more,” Erdogan said. “That’s what a friendly country is.”

During the visit, eight documents – particularly in the areas of transport, customs, industry and health – were signed.

Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from Istanbul, said that Erdogan focused on trade relations during his visit and asked Iran to bring the natural gas price for Turkey down.

Smith said: “Before Erdogan arrived in Tehran, he had a meeting with the Saudi interior minister. Turkey has suggested it might offer logistical support to Saudis in their campaign in Yemen. But in Tehran, he made no concrete reference to the conflict in Yemen publicly.”

With Scores of Children Among Civilian Dead in Yemen, US Sending More Weapons

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Red Cross describes situation in war-torn nation as ‘catastrophic’ with violence on ‘every street and every corner’

International aid groups estimate that more than 75 Yemeni children have been killed since the start of Operation Decisive Storm on March 26. (Photo: UNICEF)

International aid groups estimate that more than 75 Yemeni children have been killed since the start of Operation Decisive Storm on March 26. (Photo: UNICEF)

by Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams

Amid warnings that the Saudi-led attack on Yemen is taking a devastating toll on civilians, including more than 75 children killed since fighting began, the United States announced on Tuesday that it will be expediting the shipment of more weapons to fuel the conflict.

Speaking to reporters in Riyadh after meeting with Gulf Arab allies and Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States is increasing its support, through more arms and intelligence-sharing, of Operation Decisive Storm.

International aid groups warn that the operation, which is being led by the Saudi Arabia military with backing from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, as well as the U.S. Pentagon, has had a devastating impact on the nation’s infrastructure and civilian population.

In a statement on Monday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that at least 74 children have been killed and 44 maimed since fighting began on March 26, while countless others have been injured, displaced and put at risk from disease.

“Children are paying an intolerable price for this conflict,” said UNICEF Yemen Representative Julien Harneis speaking from the Jordanian capital Amman. “They are being killed, maimed and forced to flee their homes, their health threatened and their education interrupted. These children should be immediately afforded special respect and protection by all parties to the conflict, in line with international humanitarian law.”

UNICEF added that the estimated number of child deaths is “conservative” and is likely higher due to the intensifying conflict.

On Tuesday, a Saudi-led airstrike targeting a Houthi-controlled military base in the central Yemen province of Ibb crippled a nearby school, killing a 10- and 12-year-old while injuring dozens of other students, local residents told Xinhua News.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting between the coalition and rebels has spilled into the streets of the Aden peninsula in the south, a situation the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described as “catastrophic.”

Marie Claire Feghali, spokesperson for ICRC Yemen, said that the humanitarian situation in all of Yemen is “very difficult…(with) naval, air and ground routes cut off.” Feghali described the situation in Aden as “catastrophic to say the least.”

“The war in Aden is on every street, in every corner… Many are unable to escape,” she said.

And Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Yemen representative Marie-Elisabeth Ingres said that hospitals in Aden in recent days have received fewer casualties, “not because there are no wounded people, but due to the difficulties faced in trying to reach a hospital.”

Pakistan debates military involvement in Yemen

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Parliament discusses request by Riyadh for fighter jets as Saudi-led coalition continues to bomb Houthi positions.

Rival Pakistani rallies have been held for and against the Saudi-led campaign on Yemen [Reuters]

Rival Pakistani rallies have been held for and against the Saudi-led campaign on Yemen [Reuters]

by Asad Hashim, Al Jazeera

Islamabad: Saudi Arabia has asked for Pakistani fighter jets, ground troops and naval warships to join its campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pakistan’s defence minister has said.

Khwaja Asif was addressing a joint session of the Pakistani parliament, which met in Islamabad on Monday to begin a debate on whether to join the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, where air strikes against Houthi rebels have been ongoing since March 25.

Pakistan has regularly voiced support for the Saudi mission, but has so far not committed to taking material part in the air strikes against the Houthis, who are said to be backed by one of Pakistan’s neighbours, Iran.

Saudi officials and state media, however, have been citing Pakistan as one of 10 countries that are actively engaged in the military campaign in Yemen.

Asif said that while no decision had yet been taken on joining the military coalition, “any violation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would elicit a strong response from Pakistan”, echoing the position publicly stated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif repeatedly in the last week.

Terming the Houthi rebels “non-state actors”, who had overthrown the “legitimate” Yemeni government, led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asif stressed that Pakistan, along with regional ally Turkey, was calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

“The situation is grave and might endanger the safety and security of the whole region,” Asif said.

In the last week, more than 980 Pakistanis have been evacuated from Yemen by the Pakistani government, which has sent commercial aircraft and naval ships to aid in this effort, in conjunction with Saudi military authorities. The country is host to approximately 3,000 Pakistanis.

‘Give peace a chance’

Asif, along with Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and several high-ranking military personnel, visited Saudi Arabia on March 31 to discuss the situation in Yemen.

While there, he told parliament, the Pakistani delegation assured Saudi officials that Pakistan would protect Saudi territory if need be, but that it was pursuing the path of dialogue, and wanted “to give peace a chance”.

He confirmed that during this visit, Saudi officials had “requested us for aircraft, naval vessels and ground troops”.

PM Sharif met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Friday, where the leaders discussed possible diplomatic solutions to the crisis in Yemen, in addition to expressing support for Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is due to visit Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

Muslim-majority Pakistan is a long time ally of Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. It is also a major recipient of Saudi aid.

Pakistan has been walking a tight rope on the issue, analysts say, balancing its alliance with Saudi Arabia against the possibility of military involvement souring relations with neighbour Iran and possibly inflaming sectarian tensions at home.

Pakistan’s military is also currently engaged in ongoing operations against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its allies in the country’s tribal areas, with roughly 170,000 troops committed to that fight, in addition to fighter jets, the defence minister said on Monday.

The session adjourned late on Monday without a resolution being passed, and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq reconvened the debate for Tuesday morning.

UN: 100,000 new displaced in Yemen since strikes began

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UNICEF says majority of those that have fled their homes since conflict escalated are women and children.

yemen

by Al Jazeera

More than a 100,000 people have fled their homes after Saudi-led coalition air strikes began in Yemen, according to UNICEF.

A spokesman from the UN agency, Rajat Madhok, told Al Jazeera that most of those who have been displaced are women and children.

“Most displacements have taken place from and within al-Dhale, Abyan, Amran, Saada, Hajja. The displaced persons are mostly being hosted with relatives,” Madhok said.

In a statement published on Tuesday, UNICEF, the UN agency that provides humanitarian assistance to children and mothers, said 74 children caught up in fighting had been killed and another 44 maimed since March 26.

“These are conservative figures and UNICEF believes that the total number of children killed is much higher,” the statement read.

The agency’s Yemen representative, Julien Harneis, said children were paying an “intolerable” price, and said more needed to be done to protect them.

“These children should be immediately afforded special respect and protection by all parties to the conflict, in line with international humanitarian law,” Harneis said.

Aden clashes

The comments came as Houthi rebels and forces backing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi engaged in fierce clashes in the country’s south, reportedly leaving more than 140 people dead in 24 hours on Monday.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera that the number of civilian casualties was not yet clear.

“We don’t have a clear account of the number of civilians being killed but obviously the number is increasing due to the strikes and also the humanitarian situation is deteriorating due to the siege and strikes hitting food storages,” he said.

Aden is a power base for Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia as the fighters from the Zaydi Shia sect expanded their control across the country.

As thousands are in dire need of aid, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said that one passenger plane carrying staff was able to land in the capital Sanaa on Monday, but that the organisation has not yet been able to find a cargo plane operator to fly supplies into the country.

Sitara Jabeen, the ICRC’s spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the humanitarian situation was worsening.

“The situation in Yemen remains extremely critical. The conflict … has intensified, especially in Aden. We are still trying to find a cargo plane that can carry our supplies to Sanaa,” said Jabeen, speaking from Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition has bombed Houthi positions since March 26 and has dropped weapons to Hadi loyalists, but the rebels continue to put up resistance and have said they will accept peace talks only if the aerial attacks stop.

The Houthis swept into Sanaa in September and put Hadi under house arrest before he fled to Aden and then to Saudi Arabia. Backed by militias loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, they control large swaths of Yemen, which is also grappling with al-Qaeda.

As Death Toll and Chaos Mount in Yemen, Red Cross Calls for Ceasefire

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‘The streets of Aden are strewn with dead bodies, and people are afraid to leave their homes,’ says Red Cross

A Houthi fighter mans a weapon on a patrol truck as he guards the site of a demonstration against Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, in Sanaa April 3, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi)

A Houthi fighter mans a weapon on a patrol truck as he guards the site of a demonstration against Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, in Sanaa April 3, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi)

by Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams

Amid ongoing Saudi-led airstrikes—including a bombing Friday that killed at least nine people from the same Yemeni family—the United Nations is considering calls for a ceasefire in Yemen to allow urgent humanitarian aid deliveries and evacuation of civilians.

And on Sunday, Reuters cited a senior Houthi member who said the Houthis “are ready to sit down for peace talks as long as a Saudi-led air campaign is halted and the negotiations are overseen by ‘non-aggressive’ parties.”

Warplanes and ships from a Saudi-led coalition have been bombing the Iran-allied Houthi forces for 11 days.

However, as Juan Cole notes, the airstrikes “have repeatedly hit civilian neighborhoods in cities like Sanaa and have, intentionally or no, struck soft targets of no obvious military value, including a refugee camp.”

Hundreds have reportedly died, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, in its appeal for an immediate “humanitarian pause,” describedharrowing conditions for civilians.

The Red Cross said, “hospitals and clinics treating the streams of wounded from across much of Yemen are running low on life-saving medicines and equipment. In many parts of the country, the population is also suffering from fuel and water shortages, while food stocks are quickly depleting. Dozens of people are being killed and wounded every day. The streets of Aden are strewn with dead bodies, and people are afraid to leave their homes.”

Summer Nasser, a human rights activist and blogger in Aden, told Al Jazeerathat it seemed the humanitarian crisis in that city “is actually getting worse by the hour.”

If relief supplies and medical personnel are unable to reach affected areas, Robert Mardini, head of Red Cross operations in the Near and Middle East, warned that “many more will die.”

Russia similarly appealed to the United Nations Security Council, pressing for suspensions of the airstrikes to allow evacuation of foreign civilians and diplomats and demanding rapid and unhindered humanitarian access. The council met Saturday in New York to consider the proposal, but made no decisions.

BBC reports that the council’s president, Dina Kawar, who is also Jordan’s UN ambassador, said members needed time to “reflect on the proposal.”

According to Al Jazeera:

Saudi Arabian Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, a spokesman for the Arab coalition, told a news conference that aid “will come when we are able to set the conditions [so] that this aid will benefit the population”.

He said the coalition requires that aid delivery does not interfere with the military operation, that aid workers are not put at risk, and that supplies do not fall into the wrong hands.

“We don’t want to supply the militias,” Asiri said.

Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that three Arab-American advocacy groups—The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus (ALC)—have created StuckInYemen.com as part of a campaign to highlight the plight of Yemeni Americans, currently trapped in the war-torn country, who fear they have been abandoned by their own government.

In Yemen, Red Cross reports aid blockade by Saudi air campaign as medics say 185 lives lost in Aden battle

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A UN count earlier this week estimates some 519 people have been killed and almost 1,700 wounded in Yemen in the last two weeks. (AFP/File)

A UN count earlier this week estimates some 519 people have been killed and almost 1,700 wounded in Yemen in the last two weeks. (AFP/File)

by Al Bawaba

Heavy clashes between rival militias has left at least 185 people dead and wounded 1,200 others in Yemen’s port city of Aden, a medical official told the AFP Saturday.

Despite the toll coming from the latest battles between warring militias in the ciy, the medical official believes some two thirds of Aden’s casualties are civilians.

The last stronghold for embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Aden has been a strategic battleground for Shiite Houthi rebels and the pro-government militias trying to restore Hadi’s control on the ground with help from Saudi-led coalition air power above.

Aden Health Department Director Al-Kheder Lassouar told the news agency the casualty and injury count, came from local hospitals, who began tracking the numbers on March 26, and refers only to casualties that occured as a result of militia clashes in Aden. The count does not include casualties from the side of the Houthis and their allies, the director explained, as they often do not bring their injured to public hospitals, and also excludes death tolls resulting from Saudi-led airstrikes in the country.

Under the weight of a mounting injury and death count, Lassouar said the city’s hospitals were inn eed of international assistance and supplies.

A UN count given Thursday estimates some 519 people have died and almost 1,700 wounded across the war-torn country in the last two weeks, but did not specify whether the number also included fighters.

Since Saudi Arabia launched its air campaign against the Houthis on March 26, international powers have voiced concern about the escalating humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country. The International Red Cross said Saturday three aid and medical staff shipments have been blocked from entering Yemen because of the Saudi-led coalition, Reuters reported, which is currently in control of the war-torn nation’s air space and port access.

The international aid organization is seeking secure air space for two planes carrying bulk medical supplies and medical and water sanitation items to the capital Sanaa, in addition to a boat to carry a surgical team to Aden. The group says Saudi’s coalition has so far blocked their efforts. Fellow aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres has made similar claims against the coalition, saying restictions on Yemeni air space and port access has prevented them from delivering vital medical supplies to civilians trapped between the warring groups across the chaotic country.

The claims come on the heels of a Russian push for humanitarian pauses in the Saudi air campaign to minimize the crushing blow to civilian lives the deepening crisis has caused so far. The 15-member UN Security Council will meet Saturday in the US to discuss Russia’s request.

Yemen factory workers killed in Hodaida air strike

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Medical sources say 23 workers were killed in the strike on a dairy factory in the Red Sea port city of Hodaida.

Medical sources said all 23 casualties had been employees at the factory

Medical sources said all 23 casualties had been employees at the factory

by Al Jazeera

An air strike on Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodaida has killed 23 workers at a dairy factory, medical sources said, in what appears to be one of the biggest cases of civilian deaths in a Saudi-led campaign against Houthi rebels.

Residents near the Hodaida dairy factory said it was located near an army camp loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, while medical sources in the city said the casualties had all been workers at the plant. The strike on Tuesday night had also destroyed a fuel store, the residents told Reuters news agency.

The incident is believed to have been part of an aerial campaign by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim states to stop Houthi fighters and former president winning control of the country and reinstating Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

However, after seven nights of bombings targeting both the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh, the coalition has not managed to secure Hadi’s control over his last remaining enclave of rule in the southern port of Aden, a key aim of the campaign.

The sound of gunfire and several large blasts were heard in Aden throughout the night, the Reuters news agency reported. Videos posted online, which could not be immediately confirmed, appeared to show fighting at an army base loyal to Saleh in the northeast of the city.

A raid at a coastal defence station at Maidi port in Hajja province north of Hodaida killed six soldiers, workers there said, while further strikes hit an army camp in Sanaa and a government facility in Saadeh in the north of Yemen.

In New York, the UN said late on Tuesday that at least 62 children had been killed and 30 wounded in fighting over the past week, and that an attack on a refugee camp in northern Yemen, which medics blamed on an air strike, broke international law.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned the country was “on the verge of total collapse”.

Indians evacuated

Meanwhile, an Indian naval patrol boat picked up nearly 350 Indian nationals from the port of Aden on Tuesday night, and was expected to arrive in Djibouti during the day, a spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said.

More than 4,000 Indians are believed to have been in Yemen when Saudi Arabia launched air strikes last week.

Negotiations are under way to allow evacuation flights into Sanaa, where the Indian community is concentrated, and receive permission to evacuate more from Hodaida, the spokesman said.

As chaos in Yemen continues, air strike kills dozens at refugee camp

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Roughly 500 new families had arrived in the camp over the last two days, escaping bombings in other parts of the country

A displaced family at Al-Mazrak camp in northern Yemen. (Photo: UNHCR)

A displaced family at Al-Mazrak camp in northern Yemen. (Photo: UNHCR)

by Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams

As a Saudi-led coalition continued to strike Houthi targets in Yemen for a fifth day, at least 45 people have been killed, and dozens more injured, in the northern part of the country after an air strike hit a camp for internally displaced people.

According to Middle East Eye, Al-Mazrak Camp is home to at least 17,000 people displaced by previous fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government as well as more recent arrivals who have fled this week’s attacks.

An International Organization for Migration spokesman said at least 65 people were injured in the bombing, which reportedly hit a medical facility in the camp and the camp management building.

Doctors Without Borders said Monday that roughly 500 new families arrived in the camp over the last two days, escaping bombings in the western area of Sa’dah.

“People in Al Mazraq camp have been living in very harsh conditions since 2009, and now they have suffered the consequences of an airstrike on the camp,” said Pablo Marco, the Doctors Without Borders operational manager for Yemen. “We call all parties to spare civilians from violence, respect the neutrality of medical facilities and staff, and allow unhindered access to medical assistance for the wounded.”

For updates on the unfolding situation, Common Dreams has curated a Twitter feed of trusted voices.

Yemen does not need another war: Report from Sana’a

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At least 39 civilians have reportedly been killed so far in the airstrikes.

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold up their weapons to protest against Saudi-led airstrikes, during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, March 26, 2015. Saudi Arabia bombed key military installations in Yemen on Thursday, leading a regional coalition in a campaign against Shiite rebels who have taken over much of the country and drove out the president. (Photo: AP/Hani Mohammed)

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold up their weapons to protest against Saudi-led airstrikes, during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, March 26, 2015. Saudi Arabia bombed key military installations in Yemen on Thursday, leading a regional coalition in a campaign against Shiite rebels who have taken over much of the country and drove out the president. (Photo: AP/Hani Mohammed)

by Democracy Now!

A Saudi-led aerial bombing campaign has entered its second day in Yemen. The Saudi-led airstrikes are intended to thwart the advance of Shiite Houthi rebels after they seized control of the capital Sana’a last year and deposed President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi last month. On Thursday, Hadi left his refuge in Aden for Saudi Arabia. At least 39 civilians have reportedly been killed so far in the airstrikes. Amnesty International reports the dead include at least six children under the age of 10. Saudi’s bombing campaign has been backed by the United States, Gulf states, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Sudan. We go to Sana’a to speak with Farea Al-Muslimi, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Middle East Center. He recently tweeted: “I’m a 25 year old Yemeni man. I’ve seen at least 15 wars in my country. I don’t need more. I need some help and education & economy; not guns.”

Arab League tackles Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen

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Leaders meet in Egypt to discuss crisis in Yemen, where Saudi-led coalition is striking bases of Houthi rebels.

yemen

by Al Jazeera

Arab leaders have gathered in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the crisis in Yemen, where Saudi-led coalition troops are pressing ahead with airstrikes on Houthi targets.

Security was tight in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday as the leaders from the Arab League, representing 21 nations, opened the summit, which will discuss possible creation of a joint Arab military force, a sign of a new determination among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies to intervene aggressively in regional hotspots.

The summit came as their airstrikes continued for a third straight day on Saturday, hitting targets in the city of Hudaydah on the Red Sea Coast, the Houthi stronghold of Saada in the north, and military installations in and around the capital Sanaa.

At least 24 civilians were killed in Friday’s strikes, bringing the toll from two days to 45 civilians, the Houthi-run Interior Ministry said.

The Houthis’ TV station showed footage from a market in Saada it said was struck by missiles, with images of charred bodies and wrecked vehicles.

Yemeni security officials said around 80 fighters from forces loyal to the Houthis or to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had been killed in the strikes, according to the Associated Press news agency. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the press.

Air strikes also struck the base of Saleh, who ruled the country for more than 30 years. Saleh is believed to have fled to Sanhan, near the capital.

By Friday afternoon, more than 40 percent of Yemen’s air defences were destroyed, according to Yemeni Brigadier General Saleh al-Subaihi, who supports embattled Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country.

The figures of civilian and combatant casualties could not be independently confirmed, though Amnesty International said at least six children were among those killed in Sanaa on Thursday.

Diplomats evacuated from Aden

Hadi fled the southern port city of Aden on Thursday under Saudi protection. After a stop in Riyadh, he arrived on Friday in Sharm el-Sheikh to attend the Arab League.

Saudi warships, meanwhile, have evacuated dozens of other Arab and foreign diplomats from Aden, Saudi state television said on Saturday. “They arrived later in Jeddah aboard two Saudi naval vessels,” the report stated.

The spokesman for the Arab coalition bombing Houthi targets in Yemen, Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri, said that Saudi Arabia and its allies will do whatever it takes to stop Yemen’s second largest city from falling to the rebel group, amid reports of ground fighting between forces loyal to Hadi and Houthi fighters in Aden.

Asiri said in Riyadh on Friday that the coalition’s “main objective [is] to protect the government in Aden”. Aden is believed to harbour dozens of army defectors and Houthi fighters.

Asiri’s remarks came as warnings were raised that a humanitarian disaster could unfold should the military intervention escalate.

Civilians fleeing

Bashrahil Hesham Bashrahil, a journalist based in Aden, said civilians were scared, leaving the city with the once busy streets now eerily quiet.

“The markets are closed, businesses are closed and there is a real shortage of food,” Bashrahil told Al Jazeera. “Banks have been shut since Thursday and will not reopen until the security situation has been addressed.

“While power supplies have not yet been affected, there is a real sense of fear should the fighting worsen,” he said. “Hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of injured and are appealing for blood donations.”

Houthis and Hadi loyalists have been clashing on the outskirts of the city in the last few days, leaving many casualties.

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