Morocco backs Saudi coalition in Yemen
Morocco will join Saudi-led coalition action in Yemen to hold back Shiite Houthi militia by providing political, intelligence, logistics and military support, the country's foreign ministry said.
Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab countries launched air strikes throughout Yemen on Thursday to check the Houthi rebels, which are allied to Iran, and have taken over much of Yemen in a bid to oust President Adb-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Morocco's foreign ministry said its support was intended to "defend legitimacy" and included "making the Royal Armed Forces stationed in the United Arab Emirates available to the coalition", but it did not confirm reports on Gulf broadcaster Arabiya that it had sent jets. Morocco has had F-16 warplanes stationed in the United Arab Emirates since it began taking part in coalition air strikes on Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria.
