|
 Yemen's foreign minister told Reuters the Saudi-led coalition had
decided not to renew the truce because the agreement had been
repeatedly broken by the Houthis. The rebels were not immediately
available for comment.
"That's what we said before -- that if they start again, we will
start again," said Reyad Yassin Abdullah from Yemen's exiled
government in Riyadh. The coalition was not considering any new
ceasefire, he added.
Bombings struck the rebel-held presidential palace in Aden, groups
of militiamen on the western and eastern approaches to the city as
well as the international airport where Houthis and local fighters
have been clashing, said residents.
There was no word on any casualties.
Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies have been conducting an
offensive against the Houthis and units loyal to former president
Ali Abdullah Saleh for more than six weeks, saying the rebels are
backed by Shi'ite Muslim power Iran.
The campaign has yet to reverse the Houthis' advance into Aden and
along battlefronts across Yemen's south.
A five-day truce that started on Tuesday night halted the air
strikes and allowed humanitarian aid into the blockaded country,
though residents of the remote southern provinces of Shabwa, Dhalea
and Abyan said heavy ground fighting persisted despite the agreed
pause.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that Washington
supported extending the truce, but that maneuvers by the Houthis
made that difficult.
"We know that the Houthis were engaged in moving some
missile-launching capacity to the border (with Saudi Arabia) and,
under the rules of engagement, it was always understood that if
there were proactive moves by one side or another, then that would
be in violation of the ceasefire arrangement," he said.
[to top of second column] |
STRIKES TO AVOID AID ROUTES
Iran's foreign minister on Monday called on the United Nations to
take on a more active role in Yemen, including establishing a
presence on the ground to ensure that humanitarian aid could be
distributed.
"We believe the U.N. needs to create a protected zone in Yemen to
receive humanitarian aid... it is time for the U.N. to take control
of the situation," Mohammed Javad Zarif said through an interpreter
in a televised news conference.
The United Nations special envoy to Yemen Isamil Ould Cheikh Ahmed
had called on Sunday for the five-day ceasefire to be extended.
Abdulla said the resumed coalition air strikes would not target air
and sea ports needed for aid shipments.
"They will keep places for aid to come. They will keep places safe
like Sanaa airport, Hudaida seaport, Aden seaport. We will encourage
and support any humanitarian aid to come in," he said.
"The strikes will only be against the Houthi rebels, very specific,
when they move their missiles or when they start attacking people,"
he added.
(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf and Angus McDowall, Writing by Noah
Browning, editing by Sami Aboudi and Andrew Heavens)
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