Conflicts & War

Yemen’s Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of bombing raid

Sanaa, Mar 23 (efe-epa).- Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Tuesday accused Saudi Arabia of attacking positions under their control a day after Riyadh tabled a ceasefire deal.

Pro-Houthi television al-Masirah said that Saudi warplanes carried out airstrikes on Sirwah town, near the western city of Marib, where fighting between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led alliance has intensified in the recent weeks.

The coalition has also bombed positions in the capital Sanaa and the northwestern town of Abs, according to al-Masirah. No casualties have been reported so far.

The Houthi accusation that Saudi Arabia was allegedly responsible for the bombings comes a day after the kingdom offered a new peace initiative to Houthi rebels that would include a ceasefire supervised by the United Nations and the reopening of Sanaa airport.

The reopening of the airport has been on the Houthis’ list of demands since 2018 UN-brokered talks in Sweden.

In response to the ceasefire announcement, spokesman for the Houthi movement Mohamed Abdel Salam dismissed the initiative on Twitter.

Abdel Salam said that any initiative that does not take into account that “Yemen has been subjected to aggression and a blockade for six years or separates the humanitarian side from any military or political bargain” is neither serious nor new.

Meanwhile, the Houthi-controlled minister of health alleged that at least 17,097 people were killed and 27,000 others wounded by the military coalition Saudi Arabia has been leading since March 2015.

Among those killed were 3,821 minors and 2,892 women, said the ministry, adding the alliance has also destroyed 50 percent of the medical facilities in the war-torn country.

Yemen has been gripped by a devastating power struggle since late 2014 between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

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