(Newswire.net — March 28, 2015) — The UN evacuated the Yemen capital Sanaa a few hours before Saudi Arabia and its allies launched airstrikes against rebel Shiite Houthi forces, Reuters reported citing sources in the UN.
The Yemen president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi reportedly fled to Saudi Arabia as the Houthi forces gained more control on the ground in Yemen.
Saudi-led air forces attacked a convoy of Houthi armored vehicles, tanks and military trucks early Saturday, Reuters reported, citing accounts of several eye witnesses. Before striking the Yemen’s capitol, the Saudi Arabian navy evacuated 86 Arab and Western diplomats from Yemen’s southern city of Aden, Al Arabiya reports. Reportedly, the evacuation mission involved two navy ships, as well as planes and commandos.
“The Saudi Royal Navy implemented an operation called Hurricane to evacuate dozens of diplomats, including Saudis, from Aden,” a news ticker on the state news broadcaster read, according to Reuters.
The state TV also reported that the diplomats had arrived safely at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Jeddah.
“Unprecedentedly strong attacks are being carried out with the aim of destroying the Yemeni army, and in particular its elite units,” Reuters reported. According to the source, local anti-aircraft forces are responding to the attacks and loud explosions and large blasts are being reported on Twitter.
Saudi-led coalition aircraft are again bombing the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition attack is reportedly targeting the Houthi-held “missile base” in Yemen’s capitol Sanaa. The bombs, however, destroyed not only Houthi targets, but the Yemen’s Republican Guard facilities as well, a local source told Sputnik news agency.
At least three people have been killed and nine injured in the heaviest bombing since the start of the operation, Russia Today cited the Sputnik report.
Reportedly, a major power blackout in the southern part of the Yemen capitol Sanaa, caused massive panic amongst the civilian population, because military bases and depots are near the residential area.
Al Jazeera reported the Houthi rebels moved troops and artillery to the Saudi Arabia border. Reportedly, Houthi rebels have downed at least one coalition jet.