DUBAI: The Arab Coalition has begun an operation against military targets loyal to the Houthi militia in Yemen’s capital Sanaa.
“Coalition efforts in Yemen continue against terrorist organizations to maintain regional and international security,” a coalition spokesman said, adding that the raids were consistent with international law.
The coalition also confirmed it had taken all measures to ensure civilian safety, and that the mission was to neutralize the militia’s capabilities to carry out hostile attacks.
“The Houthi attack on Saudi Aramco oil pipes prove their loyalty to Iran,” Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister, said. "Houthis are a tool to advance Iranian agenda in the region.”
The attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias against the two Aramco pumping stations proves that these militias are merely a tool that Iran's regime uses to implement its expansionist agenda in the region, and not to protect the people of Yemen as the Houthis falsely claim.
— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud) May 16, 2019
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that armed drones hit two oil pumping stations in the Kingdom but did not disrupt output or exports. The Houthis said they were responsible.
Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the attack on Saudi oil pipelines was ordered by Iran and the militants are an inseparable part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
2- The Houthis are an indivisible part of #Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (#IRGC) and subject to the IRGC’s orders. This is confirmed by the #Houthis targeting facilities in the Kingdom
— Adel Aljubeir عادل الجبير (@AdelAljubeir) May 16, 2019
Read the full coalition statement here:
“The Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen carried out on Thursday an air operation on legitimate military targets that contain military bases and installations, weapon and ammunition warehouses for Iran-backed Houthi militia as per military information and intelligence.
The raids hit their targets with accuracy.
The coalition forces also ascertained that the Iranian-backed Houthi militia’s attacks on the vital facilities in the Kingdom, are considered serious violations of the international human law and customary rules and amount to war crimes.
Coalition forces will keep chasing and target terrorists all over Yemen and reach all the locations from which the attacks are launched.
The coalition operations will continue in compliance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules to neutralize these military and legitimate targets and prevent Houthi militia from using them.”
