Rival forces fought on in Yemen yesterday despite a declared halt to a Saudi-led bombing campaign, showing how tough it may be to find a political solution to a war stirring animosities between rival Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Tuesday’s announcement by Riyadh that it would end almost a month of air strikes against the Iranian-allied Houthis drew positive responses from both the White House and Tehran, as well as fresh calls for peace talks and for urgent deliveries of humanitarian aid.
But hours later, Houthi fighters captured an army brigade base loyal to the government in Yemen’s central city of Taiz following heavy fighting. A Saudi air strike hit the brigade headquarters shortly afterwards, residents said.
The brigade, along with several other army units, had declared its loyalty to exiled president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Pro-Hadi militiamen fought clashes yesterday throughout southern Yemen against the Houthis and their army allies loyal to powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and residents in the main port city of Aden reported heavy tank shelling and bursts of automatic gunfire in several neighborhoods.
Yemen’s south has been the bulwark of resistance against the Houthi advance and locals expressed dismay at the end to Saudi strikes, which had supported their forces.
“The decision was strange and totally unexpected. Our fighters had made gains but needed more Saudi air support, now we hear the Houthis and Saleh’s people are advancing in many places,” said Aden resident Saleh Salem Ba Aqeel.
But residents of the capital Sanaa slept through a quiet night, a respite from almost nightly raids since the campaign began on March 26.