Saudi Arabia launched
intense airstrikes on neighboring Yemen on Thursday, March 26, targeting
key sites including the country’s main airport, as part of a bold
Arab-led offensive to weaken powerful Shiite rebels who have put the
country’s president on the run.
The attacks plunged
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies into the deepening crisis in Yemen
after a rebel advance forced the country’s Western-backed president
to flee and left the Shiite insurgents, known as Houthis, on the brink
of claiming control of the country’s two largest cities.
The Saudi-led campaign
also reflects a balance-of-power showdown with Shiite power Iran, which
is believed to back the Houthi rebels and could gain new footholds on
the Sunni-dominated Arabian peninsula.
Saudi Arabia has
mobilized a major force — with direct or political support of
other Sunni states — that suggested it was prepared for a sustained
fight that could mirror the U.S.-led attacks against the Islamic State
in Iraq and Syria.
The Red Sea is one
of the world's most strategic water arteries, connecting Europe to the
Persian Gulf and East Asia. To the south, Bab El-Mandab strait connects
the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, while, to the north, Egypt’s
Suez Canal provides passage to the Mediterranean Sea. States which secure
the Red Sea for international navigation include Egypt, Sudan, Jordan,
Yemen, Djibouti and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan and Egypt
announced their participation in the ongoing Saudi-led military campaign
against with air and naval forces, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.
Al Arabiya said
Egypt, Pakistan and Sudan have also expressed their readiness to contribute
ground troops in the campaign.
Four Egyptian warships
entered the Suez Canal on Thursday en route to the Gulf of Aden, Reuters
news agency reported citing canal officials said.The
officials said the ships will take part in operations “to secure”
the strategic waters that control southern access to the Suez Canal. |
Almost
10 countries could have joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen