 "Saudi-led coalition airstrikes resume in Yemen: Officials")
Saudi-led coalition airstrikes targeting Shiite rebels have resumed in the southern port city of Aden after the end of a five-day humanitarian ceasefire, Yemeni security officials and witnesses said today.
The ceasefire expired at 11 p.m yesterday and coalition airstrikes hit rebel positions and tanks in several neighbourhoods of Aden, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, and the witnesses requested anonymity because they feared reprisals.
The ceasefire hadn't halted all fighting in Yemen between the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and those opposing them.
The Houthis have rejected the main aim of the three-day talks the restoration of Yemen's exiled president and the location of the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The absence of the Houthis means the national dialogue is unlikely to end the violence, which saw the rebels seize the capital, Sanaa, in September and ultimately force President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.
The UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, had opened the meeting in Riyadh yesterday by calling on all parties to ensure that the shaky cease-fire leads to a lasting truce.
"I call on all parties to refrain from any action that disturbs the peace of airports, main areas and the infrastructure of transport," said Ahmed, who delivered the speech on behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Since late March, Saudi Arabia has led airstrikes against the Houthis and allied military units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The air campaign is aimed at weakening the Houthis and restoring Hadi, who fled the country in March in the face of a rebel advance.
"This conference taking place today is in support of politics and community, and rejects the coup," Hadi told the gathering.
He urged a return to the political road map through which Saleh stepped down after more than three decades in power following a 2011 Arab Spring-inspired uprising. Saleh's ouster and the road map was backed and overseen by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which is headquartered in Saudi Arabia, as well as the UN and the US.
The ceasefire expired at 11 p.m yesterday and coalition airstrikes hit rebel positions and tanks in several neighbourhoods of Aden, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, and the witnesses requested anonymity because they feared reprisals.
The ceasefire hadn't halted all fighting in Yemen between the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and those opposing them.
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Earlier yesterday, hundreds of Yemeni politicians and tribal leaders began talks in Saudi Arabia on the future of their war-torn country, though the Houthis were not taking part.
The Houthis have rejected the main aim of the three-day talks the restoration of Yemen's exiled president and the location of the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The absence of the Houthis means the national dialogue is unlikely to end the violence, which saw the rebels seize the capital, Sanaa, in September and ultimately force President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.
The UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, had opened the meeting in Riyadh yesterday by calling on all parties to ensure that the shaky cease-fire leads to a lasting truce.
"I call on all parties to refrain from any action that disturbs the peace of airports, main areas and the infrastructure of transport," said Ahmed, who delivered the speech on behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Since late March, Saudi Arabia has led airstrikes against the Houthis and allied military units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The air campaign is aimed at weakening the Houthis and restoring Hadi, who fled the country in March in the face of a rebel advance.
"This conference taking place today is in support of politics and community, and rejects the coup," Hadi told the gathering.
He urged a return to the political road map through which Saleh stepped down after more than three decades in power following a 2011 Arab Spring-inspired uprising. Saleh's ouster and the road map was backed and overseen by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which is headquartered in Saudi Arabia, as well as the UN and the US.