What next? A ground offensive?
Oil
Tumbles After Saudis Declare End To Yemen Aerial Bombing Campaign
21
April, 2015
Saudi
Arabia said its campaign of airstrikes in Yemen have succeeded
in removing threats to the kingdom and other regional countries,
bringing to an end Operation "Decisive Storm." As
Bloomberg reports,
the Saudi Defense Ministry said a coalition of mostly Sunni Muslim
nations has “successfully eliminated the threat to the security of
Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries,” by destroying the heavy
weaponry and ballistic missiles held by the Shiite Houthi rebels.
This comes
one day after Gulf envoys told The United Nations that Yemen strikes
won't end soon.
Saudi Arabia hopes to restart a Yemeni political process and will
begin "Operation New Hope," which appears to mean Saudi
National Guard ground troops.
- *SAUDI-LED COALITION TO END OPERATION DECISIVE STORM IN YEMEN
- *SAUDI COALITION TO START `OPERATION NEW HOPE' IN YEMEN: ARABIYACoalition ends Operation Decisive Storm begins Operation Restore Hope in Yemen
Oil
reacts... because war is over, right?
Of
course it is also settlement day so Oil liquidty is thin at best and
moves exaggerated.
*
* *
Saudi Arabia said its campaign of airstrikes in Yemen have succeeded in removing threats to the kingdom and other regional countries.
The operations by a coalition of mostly Sunni Muslim nations has “successfully eliminated the threat to the security of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries,” by destroying the heavy weaponry and ballistic missiles held by the Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi Defense Ministry said in a statement late Tuesday carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. It didn’t say whether the campaign will continue.
The airstrikes were an attempt to roll back gains by the Houthis and force them to resume talks to resolve the country’s crisis. The rebels have driven Yemen’s Saudi-backed ruler, President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi, into exile.
Saudi and other Gulf Arab officials accuse the Houthis and their allies of being tools of Iran, a charge they have denied.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, earlier on Tuesday expressed optimism that the bombing of Yemen would end “within hours,” citing unspecified diplomatic efforts. The Houthis have said they’re willing to resume talks on a political settlement in Yemen, though they say they won’t accept Hadi’s return to power.
*
* *
But:
- *UN OFFICIAL COMMENTS ON SAUDI-LED COALITION OPERATIONS IN YEMEN
- *GULF ENVOYS TOLD UN YDAY YEMEN STRIKES WON'T END SOON: OFFICIAL
Meanwhile US
warships continue to trawl the coast of Yemen...
This comes a day after U.S. 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 Houthi rebels.
The deployment comes after a U.N. Security Council resolution last week imposed an arms embargo on Houthi leaders.
Arabian Sea -- USS Theodore Roosevelt and guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy conducting maritime security operations
5:56 AM - 22 Apr 2015The Navy has been beefing up its presence in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Arabian Sea in response to reports that a convoy of about eight Iranian ships is heading toward Yemen and possibly carrying arms for the Houthis. Navy officials said there are about nine U.S. warships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered the country's National Guard -- considered the Kingdom's best trained and equipped military force -- to join the military campaign against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in neighboring Yemen.
National Guard troops had already deployed along Saudi Arabia's southern border with Yemen, but the order from Salman on Tuesday could pave the way for a long-discussed ground incursion into Yemen to confront the rebels, known as Houthis.
*
* *
We
suspect war is not over.
Operation
'Decisive Storm' in Yemen has ended, new phase under way - Saudi-led
forces
RT,
21
April, 2015
Saudi-led
military coalition has completed operation "Decisive Storm"
against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, a statement by Saudi military
command cited by local media, says.
All
goals set by the "Decisive Storm" operation have been
achieved. These included the destruction of ballistic missiles the
Houthis had taken control of. The decision to end the offensive comes
following a request by the Yemeni government, according to the
Saudi-led coalition spokesman.
The
anti-Houthi campaign is now switching into a new phase codenamed
"Restoring Hope", the statement said, as cited by
Saudi-owned Arabiya TV. The Saudi Defense Ministry says it is going
to focus on anti-terrorism, security and finding a political solution
to the crisis.
This
does not, however, mean a ceasefire will be declared.
"The
coalition will continue to prevent the movement of Houthi militias
from moving or undertaking any operations inside Yemen,"
Saudi spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri in the Saudi capital
Riyadh. He added that the bombing operation will resume if it is
deemed necessary.
The
announcement about the operation wrapping up comes hours after Saudi
Arabia's King Salman ordered the country's National Guard to
reinforce the border with Yemen.
Before
that, only the navy, air and ground forces were involved in the
operation, the latter's involvement limited to controlling the
border. The National Guard is widely seen as the best equipped force
at Saudi Arabia's disposal and answers to its own ministry separate
from the Ministry of Defense.
Saudi
Arabia and its allies have been engaged in a campaign of airstrikes
and a naval blockade of Yemen, targeting anti-government Houthi
rebels.
The
Houthis had seized control of the capital Sanaa, driving Yemen's
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi into hiding in Saudi Arabia, and
advanced on the major port city of Aden.
Washington
revealed on Monday it would be sending two more warships into waters
off Yemen, to bolster its force there. The Pentagon said the vessels
are conducting routine "maritime
security operations".
The US is assisting Saudi Arabia, but not taking part in the
anti-Houthi campaign directly.
At
least 944 people have been killed and 3,487 injured during the
month-long conflict in Yemen, World Health Organization reported
Tuesday.
Iran's
foreign ministry welcomed a halt to the air strikes.
"We
said the crisis in Yemen had no military solution, and a halt to
killing innocent and defenseless people is absolutely a step
forward," said
Marzieh Afkham, a spokeswoman for the ministry, according to the
semi-official ISNA news agency.
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