- Title: Fighting rages in Yemen as UN seeks to extend 72-hour ceasefire
- Date: 22nd October 2016
- Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SAUDI AIR FORCE PLANE CARRYING JOURNALISTS AND ARMY AT RIYADH AIRBASE READY FOR TAKE OFF TO JAZAN PROVINCE JIZAN, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 21, 2016) (REUTERS) WILBERFORCE PLANE FLYING OVER JIZAN POLICE PATROLS AT HANBAQA VILLAGE IN JIZAN PROVINCE ACCOMPANY JOURNALISTS TO A HOME DAMAGED BY A ROCKET LAUNCHED FROM YEMEN RESIDENTS AT HANBAQA LOOK OUT OVER THE SCENE AS JOURNALISTS, CIVIL DEFENCE AND MILITARY PERSONNEL INSPECT THE ROCKET OWNER OF THE HOUSE EXPLAINS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE ROCKET FELL VARIOUS OF DAMAGE TO HOUSE CAUSED BY ROCKET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HUSSEIN AL-ABDALI, RESIDENCE OF HANBAQA VILLAGE IN JIZAN PROVINCE, IN LUSH VALLY OVERLOOKED YEMEN`S STARK JIBAL AL-ABADEL, SAYING: "At 9:30 pm, we suddenly heard the explosion of a rocket here. We don't know where it came from. It came from the devils of Yemen, the Houthis." LOCAL POLICE OBSERVE HUSSEIN SPEAKING WITH MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IBRAHIM AL-KHABRANI, CAPTAIN IN THE JIZAN CIVIL DEFENCE FORCES, SAYING: "There is only material damage, thank God so far there has been no loss of life. Talking about this explosion specifically, there is damage to the fences, water tanks and other properties nearby. Some simple damage." HUSSEIN SHOWING HIS DAMAGED CLOTHES TORN BY ROCKET SHRAPNEL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HUSSEIN AL-ABDALI, RESIDENT OF HANBAQA VILLAGE IN JIZAN PROVINCE, IN LUSH VALLEY OVERLOOKED YEMEN`S STARK JIBAL AL-ABADEL, SAYING: "By God, there is a truce, but it doesn't work with these people. They're devils. I swear, they can only be stopped by fire and steel. There is no good in them. May God protect us and drive their evil away from us." A SOLDIER POINTS TO A YEMENI MOUNTAIN IN THE DISTANCE THAT HOUTHI FORCES CONTROL HOMES ARE SEEN ATOP THE MOUNTAIN IN YEMENI TERRITORY VARIOUS OF DAMAGE FROM SECOND ROCKET AT A SCHOOL NEARBY IN HANBAQA VILLAGE ROCKETS LODGED INTO THE PAVEMENT OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL TRAVELLING SHOT OF VALLEY IN JIZAN NEXT TO YEMENI BORDER MOUNTAINS NAJRAN, SAUDI ARABIA (OCTOBER 22, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL BRIEFS MEDIA AT MILITARY OUTPOST ON YEMENI BORDER IN NAJRAN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL AHMED AL-ASSERI, COMMANDER OF SAUDI 4TH BRIGADE ON THE BORDER IN NAJRAN, SAYING: "The presence of the missiles next to the border must be dealt with sternly. We face off in an area of about 3-4 km. But a missile's range is 25 km. It's not a weapon to be used against me. It's a weapon to be used against civilians inside [Najran]. For us, civilians are - and I keep repeating this - a red line." FRAMED PHOTOS OF ROYAL FAMILY HANG ON THE WALL OF THE TENT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL AHMED AL-ASSERI, COMMANDER OF SAUDI 4TH BRIGADE ON THE BORDER IN NAJRAN, SAYING: "These big numbers of fighters were moving toward the border. From the rules of engagement, this is something that we and they both know, they've been informed that such action is not part of the ceasefire agreement, if any forces move against the Saudi border they will be met with force." GENERAL CONTINUES BRIEFING MEDIA
- Embargoed: 6th November 2016 20:37
- Keywords: Yemen Saudi Arabia border Houthi
- Location: RIYADH, JAZAN AND NAJRAN, SAUDI ARABIA
- City: RIYADH, JAZAN AND NAJRAN, SAUDI ARABIA
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
- Reuters ID: LVA0015536M2V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:A supposed ceasefire in the Yemen conflict expired a minute before midnight on Saturday (October 22) after a day of heavy fighting between Saudi-backed forces and the Iran-allied Houthi movement.
Each side accused the other of repeatedly violating the three-day truce and U.N. attempts to extend it before it lapsed appeared to have failed.
The ceasefire was aimed at paving the way for talks to end a 19-month war in the Arab world's poorest country and allowing badly needed aid to be delivered.
Ground fighting has raged largely unabated despite the truce, but air attacks on the capital, Sanaa, have stopped and there were fewer Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, residents and local officials said.
The Saudi military took a group of journalists to the southern border region on Friday (October 21) in Jazan to see the effect of Houthi attacks on several villages.
A local told journalists he didn't feel the Houthis could be trusted.
"By God, there is a truce, but it doesn't work with these people. They're devils. I swear, they can only be stopped by fire and steel. There is no good in them. May God protect us and drive their evil away from us," said Hussein al-Abdali, a resident of Hanbaqa.
The Saudi-led coalition backing the exiled government accused the Houthis of violating the ceasefire almost 1,000 times in the last 24 hours by launching mortar and armed attacks along Yemen's border with the kingdom and in several Yemeni provinces.
General Ahmed al-Asseri, commander of the Saudi 4th Brigade on the border in Najran, told Reuters his forces needed to respond to cross-border attacks.
"The presence of the missiles next to the border must be dealt with sternly. We face off in an area of about 3-4 km. But a missile's range is 25 km. It's not a weapon to be used against me. It's a weapon to be used against civilians inside [Najran]. For us, civilians are - and I keep repeating this - a red line," he said.
"These big numbers of fighters were moving toward the border. From the rules of engagement, this is something that we and they both know, they've been informed that such action is not part of the ceasefire agreement, if any forces move against the Saudi border they will be met with force," he added.
Houthi-run channel al-Masira said its forces had attacked Saudi positions in Najran on Friday (Octoebr 21) and launched rockets into the neighbouring Saudi province of Jizan.
The network said Houthi fighters had repelled government advances backed up by Saudi-led air strikes toward the capital Sanaa from several directions.
Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the exiled vice president and a powerful military leader, said U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed had asked for the truce to be extended for another 72 hours, and government sources told Reuters foreign diplomats were lobbying both sides to prolong the ceasefire.
The Houthis have also called for a negotiated solution to the conflict but were yet to agree on a truce extension. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
