New Wave of Airstrikes Against Houthi Positions in Yemen

Saudi coalition warplanes resumed a new wave of airstrikes against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen on Saturday, June 2, as clashes intensified in southern Yemen. According to AFP, the new airstrikes targeted ammunition depots controlled by the Shia Houthis in Ghula, in the Omran province north of the capital. Earlier that same day, similar bombings targeted a weapons depot in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, resulting in severe explosions, and reports indicate that the Dhabwa military base, controlled by the rebels, was also bombed. In Hajjah in northern Yemen, coalition bomb strikes on a group of armed Houthis left at least 12 dead. The Saudi coalition's airstrikes entered their sixtieth day on Sunday, aimed at weakening the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and restoring Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the President of Yemen, to power. These attacks have sparked widespread protests from Iranian officials, with Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stating that 'the Saudis have made a grave mistake in Yemen and the consequences of the crimes they have committed will certainly catch up with them.' Reports indicate that the airstrikes on Saturday were not limited to Sana'a and its northern regions; while the Houthis were engaged in battles with tribal armed groups in Ataq, the capital of Shabwa province in southern Yemen, coalition forces also bombed the scene of this conflict. In these bombings, at least 17 Houthis and 11 members of a local tribal armed group were killed. Meanwhile, it has been reported that clashes between forces loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur and the Houthis have intensified on three fronts around the port city of Aden. The United Nations, which is set to hold a conference on Yemen in Geneva next week, states that violence in the country has so far left over a thousand dead and displaced nearly half a million people.