Saudi-led campaign against Yemen rebels enters new phase
Spokesman says airstrikes by coalition of Sunni Arab Gulf nations have achieved objectives of current campaign and focus will now turn to rebuilding.
Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh on Wednesday, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said the objectives of the campaign have been met and that it would cease at midnight.
He said the rebels no longer pose a danger to civilians and that the new phase, called "Renewal of Hope" would focus on rebuilding the country while interdicting the rebels.
"The coalition will continue to prevent the movement of Houthi militias from moving or undertaking any operations inside Yemen," Asiri told reporters.
"To implement this we will continue to have our operation," he said. "Inside a city like Aden we will continue to protect civilians to prevent these militias from sustaining their operations," he said, referring to the southern port city which has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks.
The announcement suggests military action by the Sunni Muslim states against the Iran-allied rebels may continue despite the announcement earlier of an end to the almost month-long military campaign.
Asiri did not rule out future airstrikes against the Houthi rebels.
In remarks Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the airstrikes in Yemen were prompted by the Sunni kingdom's failures elsewhere, causing what he called a "mental imbalance."
Speaking to reporters before heading to Indonesia, Rouhani mocked Saudi Arabia by calling it a country with dashed dreams in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
"All the failures have accumulated and caused mental and emotional imbalance for that country," Rouhani said.
The remarks came a day after the US Navy said aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was steaming toward the waters off Yemen to beef up security and join other American ships that are prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the Houthis.
The deployment comes after a UN Security Council resolution last week imposed an arms embargo on Houthi leaders.
