Sanaa // The Saudi-led coalition bombed the Yemeni capital’s airport and the Shiite rebels’ northern stronghold on Saturday just hours after proposing a humanitarian ceasefire to start next week.
Hundreds of families fled the rebels’ Saada province bastion before a coalition deadline to leave expired on Friday evening, after which warplanes pounded the bases and homes of rebel leaders, witnesses said.
After six weeks of air strikes in support of exiled President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, the coalition zeroed in on Saada, the rugged heartland of the Houthi Shiite rebels on the border with Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh has warned that the Iran-backed rebels crossed a “red line” by shelling populated border areas of the kingdom earlier this week.
Coalition aircraft and Saudi artillery pounded rebel chief Abdul Malik Al Houthi’s hometown of Marran, witnesses said.
The insurgents’ Al Masirah television channel said Marran and nearby Baqim were hit by more than 160 rockets.
It said the coalition had launched more than 27 air raids across the province.
Residents of Saada city said strikes brought down the telecommunications network there.
The coalition confirmed on Saturday it had targeted the houses of several Houthi chiefs as well as arms depots, and renewed its call to civilians to avoid rebel positions, the Saudi SPA state news agency said.
Coalition warplanes also launched new strikes against the airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, where the runway was damaged in previous raids.
The coalition has imposed a tight sea and air blockade in an attempt to prevent supplies from reaching the rebels and their allies in the security forces.
The rebels have yet to respond to the proposal made by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir on Friday for a five-day ceasefire beginning on Tuesday.
The United Nations has called repeatedly for a ceasefire after weeks of fighting that have killed more than 1,400 people, many of them civilians.
Even before the latest exodus of civilians from Saada, the UN estimated that the conflict had displaced at least 300,000 people.
More than 800 families took refuge in neighbouring Amran province on Friday, witnesses said. Scores more fled to the capital.
Doctors Without Borders warned it was “impossible” for Saada’s entire population to leave in just hours, and called on Twitter for the coalition to avoid hitting residential areas.
In Yemen’s main southern city Aden, there was no letup in weeks of fighting between the rebels and their allies and forces loyal to Mr Hadi.
Eight rebels and four loyalists were killed in heavy clashes in north Aden, military sources said.
And in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, 30 people were killed — 24 rebels and six pro-Hadi fighters — in clashes that broke out on Friday, a military official said.
*Agence France-Presse
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Specs
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Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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