‘We don’t need missiles’: Houthis threaten to attack Saudi Arabia if bombing continues

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Followers of the Houthi group demonstrate against the Saudi-led air strikes in Sanaa April 22, 2015. (Reuters/Khaled Abdullah)

Followers of the Houthi group demonstrate against the Saudi-led air strikes in Sanaa April 22, 2015. (Reuters/Khaled Abdullah)

Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels have threatened to launch an attack on Saudi Arabia if the bombings in Yemen do not stop. The Zaidi group has sent the warning to Riyadh and demanded that UN-brokered political dialogue be resumed in Yemen.

The Houthis “will
carry out a military attack on Saudi Arabia, if the airstrikes on
Yemen don’t come to an end,” Mohammed Bahiti, member of the
Ansar Allah movement, told TV channel Al Mayadeen.

Bahiti stressed that the Houthi rebels “do not require
missiles” to carry forward with their promise, referring to
Yemeni military depots destroyed in the airstrikes. He also
rejected claims that Operation Decisive Storm, led by Saudi
Arabia, was able to successfully destroy the Houthi rebels’
military capabilities.

According to Bahiti, Houthis are ready to resume UN-sponsored
talks from “the point they were at before Saudi
aggression.” The previous round of talks ended in January.

READ
MORE: Operation ‘Decisive Storm’ in Yemen ends, new phase
underway – Saudi-led forces

At the same time, he warned that the ousted Yemeni President Abd
Rabbuh Mansur Hadi can never come back to power, adding that
rebels view him as a “traitor.”

“The Yemeni people will not honor Mansur Hadi and allow him
to return to power,” Bahiti said.

The statement came against a backdrop of intensified anti-Houthi
coalition bombing, with reports on Twitter suggesting more
rebel-controlled military installations have been targeted and
destroyed.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-led military coalition announced that it
has completed Operation Decisive Storm against the Houthi rebels,
adding that the campaign is now switching into a new phase
codenamed ‘Restoring Hope’, which will focus on anti-terrorism,
security and finding a political solution to the crisis.

However, less than 24 hours later, airstrikes resumed. Fighting
continued into Thursday, as the Shiite rebels pushed on with
their offensive in the south and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition
proceeded to intensify airstrikes, hitting several cities,
including Aden, Houdida, Taiz, Dhale and Ibb, according to AP.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been engaged in a campaign of
airstrikes and a naval blockade of Yemen, targeting the Shiite
rebels. This was in response to the Houthis seizing control of
the capital Sanaa, advancing on the major port city of Aden, and
forcing Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Since the campaign began on March 26, there have been over 4,000
airstrikes that killed nearly 1,100 people and displaced 150,000
others, according to UN resident coordinator in Yemen Paolo
Lembo.

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