Airstrikes continue on military sites in Yemen

5 Dariya News

Sanaa 19-May-2015

Fighter jets of a Saudi-led coalition bombed military sites controlled by Yemen's Shia Houthi group and former Republican Guards in capital Sanaa on Tuesday, one day after a five-day truce expired.Witnesses said the warplanes hit missile depots on Faj Attan mountain in western Sanaa that is controlled by the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullash Saleh, Xinhua news agency reported.Fire and smoke resulting from a series of powerful explosions could be seen from downtown Sanaa.The warplanes also hit Houthi-controlled military sites on Nokm mountain in eastern Sanaa, according to military sources.Residents in the western port city of al-Hodayda also saw airstrikes on Houthi military sites.

The fresh airstrikes came hours after the Houthis handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross the body of a Moroccan pilot, whose plane was shot down in the Houthi stronghold of northern Saada province on May 10.On Monday, the Saudi-led alliance resumed its air raids against te Shia Houthi group in the southern port city of Aden shortly after the truce expired late Sunday, according to army sources.The warplanes targeted the presidential compound and Aden airport, both controlled by the Houthis, and several Houthi military gatherings in the port city.UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed urged all warring parties to extend the humanitarian ceasefire at a conference held in the Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. He said the truce should be turned into permanent ceasefire to end all acts of violence.

The five-day ceasefire began last week to enable the UN to deliver humanitarian aid to Yemenis.However, during the truce, clashes between Houthi fighters and forces loyal to exiled President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi continued as both sides trade accusations of breaching the cease-fire.On the last day of the shaky truce on Sunday, intense fighting in Yemen's southern province of Taiz killed at least 20 people.Saudi Arabia, along with eight other Arab states, have been bombing the Houthi group and forces loyal to former president Saleh since March 26, aiming to reinstate the government of President Hadi, who was forced to flee the country.

A dialogue with the participation of several Yemeni political parties, tribes, representatives of country's parliament as well as envoys of regional and international organizations started on Sunday in Riyadh.However, the Shia Houthi group and leaders of the General People's Congress party, led by Saleh, boycotted the talks.The seven-week airstrikes, as well as the ground battles between Houthis and Hadi's supporters, have so far killed more than 1,400 people, while over 4,000 others were wounded across the crisis-ridden country, according to data released by the Yemeni government.