Saada in crosshairs; residents told to leave

SANAA: A Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Yemen’s Shiite rebels gave the residents of a rebel stronghold in Yemen along the Kingdom’s border an ultimatum to leave the region by nightfall on Friday, state TV reported.
The Ekhbariya TV said the coalition has declared the rebel stronghold of Saada a war zone and said its entire territory would from now on be considered a “military target,” urging all civilians to leave by 7 p.m. local time on Friday.
Coalition planes have dropped leaflets to Saada’s residents, asking them to leave.
Also Friday, the SPA reported that warplanes destroyed a land-mine factory, a telecommunications complex and command centers in Saada.
In addition to the more than 50 airstrikes, helicopters dropped leaflets calling on residents to stay away from rebel positions and houses, said Yemeni officials.
Warplanes struck the Houthis in their northern stronghold on Friday.
Fighter jets hit Houthi positions in the city of Amran, north of Sanaa, witnesses said. Overnight they targeted rebels in the southern port of Aden, where clashes with the president’s allies continue.
Coalition aircraft also hit the eastern outskirts of rebel-held Ataq, the Shabwa provincial capital, as tribal fighters attacked on the ground, a military official close to the rebels said.
In the southern town of Loder, a roadside bomb killed 12 Houthis, local commander Ali Issa said, adding that two of his men died in clashes.
UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed met Hadi in Riyadh on Friday as he tried to relaunch stalled peace talks, the president’s office said.