SANA, Yemen — Saudi-led airstrikes targeted Iran-backed rebels and their allies in Yemen on Wednesday, hours after Saudi Arabia declared an end to a nearly month-long air campaign.
The Shiite forces later said they would welcome United Nations-led peace talks to end a conflict that has killed hundreds without dislodging them from the capital.
The rebels, known as Houthis, say they call for a resumption of dialogue and any efforts under the auspices of the U.N. that lead to a peaceful compromise.
“We welcome any United Nations efforts that are on the side of peaceful solutions,” Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdul-Salam said in a statement, which came as thousands of angry Houthi supporters marched in the capital, Sana, denouncing what they described as “Saudi-American aggression.”
The continuing Saudi-led strikes suggest that the U.S.-backed offensive, aimed at restoring Yemen’s internationally recognized president, is entering a new phase in which military action will be scaled back but not halted.
“If there are any military movements that are suspicious on the ground, the coalition will attack it,” said Riad Kahwaji, director of the Dubai-based Institute of Near East And Gulf Military Analysis. “There will be a support and backup for the (pro-Hadi forces) and those supporting the legal movement in Yemen.”
The air raids hit rebel positions in the southern port of Aden and central city of Taiz as ground fighting between the rebels and their allies against supporters of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi continued in both areas, Yemeni officials said.
Sana was calm, however, as residents experienced their quietest night in almost four weeks and did not wake up to new scenes of devastation. Late in the day, thousands of pro-Houthi demonstrators marched in the city.
The strikes in Taiz hit the Houthis as they gathered at a military headquarters they control near the old airport to the city’s southeast, officials said. Also targeted was the southern port city of Aden, where aircraft blasted rebel forces in outlying districts. In both areas, the Houthis are fighting alongside forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Saudi-led air campaign, launched March 26, was aimed at crushing the Houthis and allied military units loyal to Saleh.
But the rebels and their allies have lost little ground, and Hadi remains in exile in Saudi Arabia.
