Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition carried out the most sustained bombardment of Yemen’s capital Sanaa in nearly two months of airstrikes on Tuesday night, residents of the city said, hitting army bases and weapons depots. It was the first time airstrikes continued from morning until after midnight since the campaign began on March 26, residents said, and led to terrifying blasts across the city, Reuters wrote. Yemen’s ousted government in Riyadh, backed by the coalition, said on Tuesday it would not agree to talks with rebels until they withdrew from cities and surrendered weapons, meaning peace talks to end the civil war seem unlikely soon.
The coalition restarted strikes late on Sunday after a five-day humanitarian pause, waving away pleas for an extension by the United Nations by pointing to what it claimed were repeated abuses of the ceasefire by rebels.
The Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, control most of the populated west of Yemen, and have been fighting local groups in the cities of Aden, Taiz, Marib and al-Dhala. The Houthis and Saudi forces exchanged artillery and rocket fire across the border on Wednesday night and coalition warplanes bombed the group’s stronghold of Saada, the rebels said. Saudi jets this month struck Sanaa airport’s runway to stop an Iranian cargo plane, which was carrying a Red Crescent aid shipment, from landing.
