Yemen: Arab coalition pounds Houthi sites after truce

By Mohammed al-Samai

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Warplanes from the Saudi-led Arab coalition struck two Houthi camps east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, shortly after a three-day truce expired.

The raids targeted al-Hafa and al-Nahdayn camps east of Sanaa, according to eyewitnesses.

Billows of black smoke were seen rising from the pounded sites.

No information was yet available about casualties.

Sunday’s airstrikes came shortly after a three-day truce between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition ended without a renewal.

On Saturday, UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed called on Yemen’s warring rivals to extend the truce for another three days.

Yemen has been racked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing members of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

The conflict escalated when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies last March launched a massive military campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains in Yemen and restoring the country’s embattled government.

Earlier this month, the U.S. directly intervened in the conflict -- for the first time -- with a cruise missile strike on Houthi targets on the coastal province of Al-Hudaydah.