Saudi Arabia says it is consulting coalition partners about a possible truce in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid to get through. But on Monday its
Saudi Arabia says it is consulting coalition partners about a possible truce in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid to get through.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
But on Monday its jets pounded several airports including the capital, Sanaa, as its campaign against Houthi rebels continued.
A cargo plane left in flames on the runway had been due to carry food to remote areas, according to an airport worker.
The Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Arab states has been attacking Iran-backed Houthis and their allies since the rebels took control of large parts of Yemen in March.
At Aden in the south, militias loyal to the exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi have been fighting Houthis for control of the airport.
A militia spokesman said foreign special forces had joined his fighters against the rebels, only to retract his statement after the Saudis denied that they had put non-Yemeni forces on the ground.
Gulf leaders from the Sunni-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council are meeting on Tuesday for an extraordinary summit. It follows a meeting on Monday between the French President François Hollande and Yemen’s exiled President Hadi in Riyadh.
Amid concern over Iran’s influence in the region, both Paris and Washington have sought to calm fears about an international accord being agreed over Tehran’s nuclear programme.