SANAA, Yemen (AP) – Saudi-led coalition warplanes pounded Shiite rebels and their allies overnight and throughout the day Tuesday in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and in the south, while officials loyal to the country’s exiled government criticized past attempts by the coalition to airdrop weapons to pro-government fighters in Yemen.
Since March 26, an alliance of the kingdom and several mostly Gulf Arab countries has been carrying out daily airstrikes against Yemen’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies – army units loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. So far, the U.S.-backed campaign has failed to reign in the Iran-backed rebels who last year captured Sanaa and much of the country’s north.
Overnight, multiple explosions shook Sanaa as warplanes dropped bombs, targeting several rebel-held army camps, trucks carrying weapons and houses turned into weapons’ depots for the Houthis, according to residents and officials.
The residents, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared for their own safety, said heavy smoke blanketed Sanaa. In the city’s northern district of al-Nahda, several strikes hit large caches of weapons stored inside the villas of two top Shiite rebel leaders, officials said.
Around midday, airstrikes hit the Sanaa airport, setting a plane owned by a private company on fire, according to a statement released by the Houthis.