YEMEN-SECURITY/SANAA AFTERMATH Air strikes target political HQ of son of Yemen's ex-President

Record ID: 150542

  • Title: YEMEN-SECURITY/SANAA AFTERMATH Air strikes target political HQ of son of Yemen's ex-President
  • Date: 8th June 2015
  • Summary: SANAA, YEMEN (JUNE 8, 2015) (REUTERS) VIEW OF STREET HOUSING COMPOUND OF YEMEN'S GENERAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS AND THE HEADQUARTERS FROM WHERE AHMED ALI SALEH, THE SON OF YEMEN'S FORMER PRESIDENT IS COMMANDING ARMY UNITS VARIOUS OF AHMED ALI SALEH'S DESTROYED HQ AND OFFICES (SOUNDBITE) (ARABIC) SANAA RESIDENT, ALI MOHAMMED SAYING: "The Saudi aggression struck the surrounding r
  • Embargoed: 23rd June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Yemen
  • Country: Yemen
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABENRT6OZ3AYVWR0H2P86LL3AE
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Saudi-led fighter jets bombed the political headquarters of Ahmed Ali Saleh, son of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the capital Sanaa Monday (June 8). Nearby residential homes were also destroyed in the attack and residents of say several civilians, including children were injured.
    "The Saudi aggression struck the surrounding residential neighbourhoods and hit nearby homes in front of and behind (the headquarters)," one resident, Ali Mohammed, told Reuters.
    "A lot of people were injured and many of them are now at hospital, including children. Allah and his prophet will not accept this," he said adding that he condemned the "deplorable" acts by Al Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia.
    Reuters could not independently confirm the casualty reports, but footage from the scene of the explosion showed children's drawings on the wall of a home destroyed in the attack.
    The targeted compound is the permanent base of the General People's Congress, the ruling party of former President Saleh. It's also the headquarters from which his son Ahmed commands army units currently fighting alongside the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
    The air strike came a day after Saudi-led jets targeted the main headquarters of the Yemeni army in central Sanaa, killing at least 44 people, the Houthi-run state news agency Saba reported.
    More than 100 people, including women and children, were also wounded in the attack, which destroyed private homes in the Tahrir district of Sanaa adjacent to the compound, the agency reported.
    Saudi-led forces have been pounding Houthi rebels as well as allied troops loyal to former president Saleh, since March 26 in an attempt to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.
    Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies fear that the Houthis will extend the reach of the region's main Shi'ite power, Iran, in a country already beset by separatism and home to the most active branch of al Qaeda.
    Despite the continued fighting, Hadi's exiled government in Riyadh and the Houthis have agreed to attend United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva on June 14.
    On Monday however, Hadi played down the talks saying they will only address ways to implement a Security Council resolution demanding his enemies retreat.
    Hadi and his government's host, Saudi Arabia, have insisted that any talks centre on resolution 2216, which demands that the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Saleh leave cities they seized since last September and surrender heavy weapons.
    But with the Houthis still entrenched across populated parts of western Yemen, despite 11 weeks of Saudi-led airstrikes, international pressure has grown for Hadi to accept a compromise and negotiate with the Houthis and Saleh's representatives.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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