Houthi Militants Protest after Saudi Arabia Airstrikes in Yemen

Yemen’s ruling Houthi militants organized demonstrations and lashed out at neighboring Saudi Arabia after it launched airstrikes against them early Thursday, threatening to turn a domestic conflict into a wider confrontation with sectarian overtones.

The strikes targeted Houthi military assets around the capital, San’a, and at a southern base. Houthi officials said 14 people were killed and dozens injured. Those figures couldn’t be independently confirmed.

Following the strikes, a Houthi revolutionary committee called for mass demonstrations to rally public support for a military response to the Saudi intervention. Houthi official Osama Sari said the militants weren’t scared by the strikes. “Our actions will speak for us, very soon,” he said.

Ali Al Kohom, a member of the Houthis’ political council, vowed a swift reaction.

“We will react against Saudi oppression in all ways we are capable,” he said. “Yemeni blood is not cheap. Saudi has announced war in Yemen.”

Saudi Arabia halted flights at seven southern airports after the strikes, according to a statement by the country’s civil aviation authority.

The country had earlier announced it carried out the strikes as part of a new offensive against the Houthis alongside four Persian Gulf allies and several other Arab countries.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain—five of the six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council—decided to intervene in Yemen in response to a request by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, they said in a joint statement Thursday.

Egypt is also coordinating participation in the campaign by its air force and navy, and could send a ground force if necessary, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The U.K. government said on Thursday that it supports Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen but isn’t contributing to the effort.

Turkey also said on Thursday it supports the Saudi Arabia-led military operation, condemning the Houthi militia’s “unilateral” assault on Aden.

“We support the military operation that has started against Houthis; we believe this campaign will help prevent the risk of a civil war and chaos that has surfaced in the country, and restore the legitimate state authority,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Gulf’s Sunni monarchies have long backed Mr. Hadi, who fled the southern port city of Aden by boat on Wednesday under pressure from Shiite-linked Houthis who had drawn their forces close to the city. The Houthis had earlier taken over government in the capital, San’a, forcing Mr. Hadi to flee to Aden.

Shiite Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival for power and influence in the Middle East, backs the Houthis and on Thursday condemned the military action.

The Saudi strikes Thursday raised the stakes in Yemen’s political and security turmoil, threatening to turn a domestic conflict into a wider confrontation with sectarian overtones.

The strikes also came at a delicate time for the U.S., as it and five other powers negotiate with Iran over a possible easing of sanctions in exchange for concessions on its disputed nuclear program.

In addition to the countries that are part of the coalition, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco and Pakistan “declared their willingness to participate” in the operations, which Saudi has dubbed “Firmness Storm,” according to a statement by Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency.

Source: The Wall Street Journal