Saudi-Led Coalition's Attacks On Sanaa Escalate Conflict In Yemen - Houthi Official

CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2020) The Yemeni Houthi rebels, also known as the Ansar Allah group, consider attacks by the Saudi-led coalition forces on its positions in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa a dangerous escalation of the conflict, Dhaifallah al-Shami, the information minister of the Houthi-led government, said on Monday.

"The [air] raids are a dangerous escalation that is not new, and it reveals that they [the coalition] are not in the path of stopping the aggression," al-Shami said.

The official also said that the United Nations and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths were "covering up the [coalition's] crimes, claiming that the coalition even targeted UN workers.

Earlier in the day, a military source told Sputnik that the coalition forces carried out massive attacks on positions of the Houthis in Sanaa, adding that they also bombed maintenance workshops and the al-Dulami Air Base in the northern part of the capital. The attack came after the Houthi movement fired several missiles and used drones to attack Riyadh and southwestern Saudi city of Jizan.

Meanwhile, the coalition also announced the start of an operation aimed at destroying military targets belonging to the Houthis in Sanaa.

Yemen has been facing a severe humanitarian crisis since 2015 due to the ongoing military conflict between the government forces, headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi rebel movement, which controls the country's north. The Arab coalition supports the government by conducting airstrikes against the Houthis.