Saudi tells Iran to stop backing Yemen rebels

Smoke billows after an air strike in Yemen’s central city of Ibb yesterday.

AFP/SanaaRiyadh yesterday demanded Tehran stop backing Shia rebels in Yemen but insisted it is “not at war with Iran”, as Saudi-led warplanes launched fresh strikes on rebel forces. In the third week of the air strikes mounted by Saudi Arabia and its allies, the International Organisation for Migration said it flew a first planeload of 143 foreigners out of Yemen. At a gathering in Doha, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for the resumption of Yemeni peace talks and for “a cessation of military moves as soon as possible”. Saudi Arabia heads a coalition of nine Arab countries which since March 26 has carried out air strikes against the Houthi Shia rebels who overran Sanaa in September. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal urged Tehran not to “assist the criminal activities” of the Houthis “against the legitimate order of Yemen and (to) stop the delivery of weapons and aid” to the rebels. But he insisted “we are not at war with Iran”, which denies arming the rebels. There was no immediate reaction from Tehran. But Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian denied media reports that two members of his country’s elite Revolutionary Guards had been captured in Yemen. “Iran has no military forces in Yemen,” he said, quoted by the official Irna news agency. The rebels include forces who have remained loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh after he was forced from power in 2012 following a year of nationwide protests against his three-decade rule. The anti-government forces have been locked in battles against forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Since the air campaign began, fighting has flared in 15 of Yemen’s 22 provinces.  The coalition said on Saturday it had conducted 1,200 strikes since March 26 and neutralised the air and missile capabilities of the anti-government forces in the air war which is accompanied by a naval blockade. The campaign was launched as the rebels closed in on Hadi’s refuge in Aden, but when fighting encroached on the city, the president escaped to Saudi Arabia. In a move that triggered speculation on social media about possible motives, Hadi’s entourage said he appointed Prime Minister Khaled Bahah as vice president. Air strikes targeted a presidential palace in Aden, killing six Houthis. Raids were also conducted around Sanaa, and Houthi gatherings were targeted in both the central province of Ibb and farther east in Marib. The Houthis have won support from renegade soldiers loyal to ex-president Saleh, but yesterday soldiers from two brigades in Marib joined the ranks of the pro-Hadi fighters, a tribal chief said. In Shabwa, tribesmen seized the base and arms of a rebel brigade, before clashing with other renegade troops and forcing them to surrender their weapons. Al Qaeda militants have taken advantage of the insecurity to seize Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout province. An alleged US drone late Saturday hit an Al Qaeda vehicle in Mukalla, killing six suspected militants, the government said. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter acknowledged last week that Al Qaeda was making gains and the fighting in Yemen was complicating counter-terrorism efforts but vowed they would go on. Humanitarian agencies have managed to deliver more aid.  The International Committee of the Red Cross flew more than 35 tonnes of medical aid and equipment into Sanaa on Saturday, after the first aid deliveries on Friday organised by the Red Cross and UN. Russia said its navy evacuated 308 people of various nationalities from Aden as the International Organisation for Migration said more than 16,000 foreign nationals are stranded in Yemen. The UN said at least 900 people had arrived in the Horn of Africa from the conflict-riven country in the past 10 days, most of them Somalis, but also Yemenis. Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri accused the rebels of “trying to take the battle into Saudi territory... to ease pressure on their leaders”. The kingdom said three Saudi soldiers were killed and two wounded on Friday when mortar rounds hit their southern border observation post. Last week, three Saudi border guards were killed in a Houthi attack.