The coalition strikes Houthi strongholds in Sanaa and Hodeidah

The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen launched a military operation targeting Houthi sites in Sanaa and Hodeidah, the day after a series of terrorist Houthi attacks targeting vital, oil and civilian facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the day before yesterday.

While regional and international condemnations of the group’s attacks continued, the coalition said yesterday (Saturday) that it “began a response process to neutralize targeting oil installations or affecting energy security, protecting global energy sources from hostile attacks and ensuring supply chains.”

The coalition announced the implementation of air strikes against Houthi strongholds in the city of Hodeidah yesterday evening, after giving the Houthis 3 hours to remove weapons from the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef and Sanaa airport, calling on civilians to stay away from the vicinity of Saleef port. Subsequently, the coalition announced the destruction of a specific weapons depot in the vicinity of Salif port (near Hodeidah), after the militias transferred weapons to it, in addition to targeting 4 booby-trapped boats in Salif port that are under preparation, and thwarting an imminent attack targeting oil tankers, indicating the killing of 3 experts specialized in booby-trapping boats and launching them in Salif port. .

In addition, the head of the (coup) Governing Council in Sana’a, Mahdi Al-Mashat, announced a cease-fire initiative. However, an informed source read the move as a result of the severe blows the militias received yesterday, as well as the political and military setbacks that the group has suffered recently.

The source, who preferred not to reveal his name, pointed to the group’s classification and stigmatization as a terrorist in a statement to the Security Council, also referring to internal pressure on the group due to its reluctance to participate in the largest gathering of scattered Yemeni forces since the national dialogue in 2013, and to international pressure on the Houthis for their rejection of the initiatives. different politics. With regard to the military strikes, the source said that the immediate response of the coalition after the attacks on Saudi Arabia and the military defeat suffered by the militias as a result of their defeats in Shabwa and southern Marib, contributed to the rebel group’s attempt to “jump towards a ceasefire.”

The Gulf Cooperation Council had called for Yemeni-Yemeni consultations, which will be held in a few days at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh. While the Houthis immediately rejected it, most Yemeni components welcomed it.

The French Press Agency quoted a senior Saudi official as saying that the Houthis are continuing their attacks because they “want to announce the initiative as if they are still strong,” hours before the Houthis announced their unilateral initiative regarding a cease-fire.

The Saudi official indicated that the Houthis “continue to target civilian objects in an attempt to ease the pressure of losses inside Yemen, especially since they are under Gulf and international political pressure in the Security Council.”