YEMEN-SECURITY/SANAA AIR STRIKES Saudi-led coalition air strikes target Yemeni air base

Record ID: 143238

  • Title: YEMEN-SECURITY/SANAA AIR STRIKES Saudi-led coalition air strikes target Yemeni air base
  • Date: 20th August 2015
  • Summary: SANAA, YEMEN (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THICK BLACK SMOKE RISING ABOVE AIR BASE FOLLOWING AIR STRIKES VARIOUS OF PLUMES OF SMOKE RISING ABOVE BUILDINGS
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Yemen
  • Country: Yemen
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAD4DGQHKI4AA0PTRBXA7OI2OKN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Saudi-led coalition air strikes continued to rain down on the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Thursday (August 20), this time targeting an air base in the city.
    Plumes of thick black smoke were seen rising above the city following the air strikes.
    The air strikes are the latest to land on the capital, which has been torn apart by months of continuous fighting between Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, and forces loyal to the exiled government, with support from Saudi Arabia.
    The advanced weapons deployed by Gulf Arab states have powered the local fighters into territory controlled by the Houthi group, reversing the tide in a civil war linked to a regional power struggle between Sunni Muslim states and Iran.
    The air strikes come as Yemen's foreign minister in exile, Riyadh Yaseen, upped the ante on Wednesday (August 19), saying the war may soon end with the violent downfall of the Houthis' leader and their ally, ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
    Forging an unlikely alliance, Saleh and the Shi'ite Muslim Houthis put aside years of enmity to seize the capital in September and march on the southern city of Aden in March, triggering the Saudi-led intervention and hundreds of air strikes.
    The kingdom feared the Houthis' ties to Tehran meant its southern neighbour would fall under Iranian influence, but the militia denies being beholden to the Islamic republic and says it is trying to save Yemen from jihadists and Western imperialism.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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