World
Saudi-led forces said on Thursday they would respond harshly against Yemen's Houthi rebels following attacks on citizens in border areas, hours after the kingdom offered a five-day humanitarian truce if the Shi'ite militia stopped fighting, writes Reuters.
Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis had changed the situation by targeting cities in recent days, and vowed that the coalition would go after leaders of the rebel group. "The Houthis are now targeting the borders of the kingdom and the situation is that we will defend our citizens," Asseri told Reuters, adding that 15 people were wounded in Houthi shelling on the city of Najran on Thursday evening.
"Coalition forces will deliver a harsh response starting this moment, so that those who carried out this operation will pay the price," he said earlier on Saudi state television. Asseri said Saudi-led forces would keep all options open, but declined to say if a ground offensive was being planned.
The remarks came hours after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced at a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the kingdom was ready to offer a five-day humanitarian ceasefire if the Houthis honoured the truce.
Yemen has endured years of conflict, including U.S. drone strikes against an al-Qaeda’s branch, notes the Washington Post. But the country’s humanitarian crisis sharply escalated in the showdown between a Saudi-led coalition and rebels known as Houthis.
Houthi fighters and their allies have control of large areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab nations claim the rebels are backed by Shiite power Iran, their chief regional rival. Iran denies any direct links to the rebels, but has denounced the Saudi-led airstrikes. Kerry underscored that the cease-fire is now up to the Houthis, and requires a complete quieting of arms.
