Saudi-led forces resumed military operations in Yemen after a five-day ceasefire ended late on Sunday, and Yemen’s foreign minister blamed the Iranian-allied Houthis for failure to renew the truce. Reuters reports:
The end of the ceasefire came despite appeals by the United Nations and rights groups for extra time to allow the delivery of badly needed humanitarian supplies to the country of 25 million, one of the poorest in the Middle East.
“That’s what we said before – that if they start again, we will start again,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Reyad Yassin Abdulla told Reuters. He said the coalition was not considering any new ceasefire but would not target air and sea ports needed for aid shipments.
Saudi-led forces conducted three air strikes on Yemen’s northern Saada province on Monday, according to Houthi media, which said Saudi forces had fired 70 rockets and artillery shells into north Yemen. Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported heavy shelling by Saudi forces at Houthi outposts across the border after the fighters fired mortars at an army post in Saudi Arabia’s southern Najran province.
