Arab Coalition announces new offensive against Yemen’s Houthis

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - The Saudi-led coalition launched a new military operation against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Wednesday, days after the first reports of missiles fired at Riyadh in several weeks.

The new push comes after the coalition announced a unilateral ceasefire in early April after calls from the UN to halve all global conflicts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Houthis ignored the move and carried on fighting but the regular rocket fire towards Saudi targets appeared to stop.

"The coalition started a military operation against legitimate targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist militia," the state-run Saudi Press Agency announced on Twitter.

"The operation aims to neutralise and destroy the rebels' military capabilities in response to the threats it posed."

After several weeks, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles and drones launched by the Iran-backed rebels at targets in the capital of Riyadh last week.

This was the first such reported attack on targets within the kingdom by the Houthis since the Coalition ceasefire.

The kingdom has been the target of dozens of Houthi attacks, with the rebels using ballistic missiles or drones to target Saudi Arabia's most populous cities and towns.

Inside Yemen, the Houthis have used the pandemic as a recruiting tool, trying to take advantage of pupils from closed schools and those unable to work because of the virus.

The announcement came a day after the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, visited Riyadh for talks with President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

It was part of Mr Griffiths's attempts to build a lasting ceasefire between the warring parties and move towards peace talks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday night, the Security Council finally backed the March 23 call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a global truce to tackle the pandemic.

The council adopted a resolution after months of talks for a compromise between the US and China over the language of the resolution.

Drafted by France and Tunisia, the resolution calls for "all parties to armed conflicts to engage immediately in a durable humanitarian pause for at least 90 consecutive days" to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Yemen was on the list of conflicts as UN officials have warned as many as 16 million people in the country may get the virus and the already shattered health system will be unable to cope.

The coalition intervened in Yemen at the request of the government after the Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa in late 2014.

This week, the coalition announced it had intercepted a shipment of Iranian weapons, destined for the Houthi rebels, off the Yemen coast.

Saudi representatives of the coalition revealed details of the shipment in a conference in which they displayed footage and images of the operation.

They said the vessel was intercepted 12 days ago.

The find shows Iran is contravening a UN resolution that prohibits arms transfers to the Houthi rebels.

This week calls intensified for the UN to renew a 13-year arms embargo, due to expire in October, on Iran.