Yemen's bombers see Aden as key

Safe place for president’s return is goal; airstrikes in 2nd day

A Yemeni man carries away a box of ammunition looted from a military depot Friday in Aden.
A Yemeni man carries away a box of ammunition looted from a military depot Friday in Aden.

SANAA, Yemen -- As airstrikes in Yemen intensified on their second day Friday, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were considering an intervention on the ground, aimed at giving the president a secure foothold to return to the country, while backing Sunni tribesmen to fight against Shiite rebels and their allies, military officials said.

A likely entry point for troops from the Saudi-led Arab coalition was the southern port of Aden, the Yemeni and Egyptian military officials said.

The city is already a battleground, and on Friday forces loyal to the rebels' top ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were advancing toward it.

The officials drew broad outlines for the likely strategy for the ambitious campaign launched Thursday, led by Saudi Arabia with a major role by its ally Egypt. The aim, they said, was to carve out enough room for President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced to flee the country from Aden, to return.

In the longer term, the campaign aims to wear down the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and Saleh's forces enough to reach a power-sharing accord. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans.

"The credibility and legitimacy of President Hadi erode with every day he spends outside the country," said one Yemeni military official. Hadi fled by boat from Aden on Wednesday, making his way to Saudi Arabia, and on Friday arrived in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for an Arab summit due to start today.

The forces of Saleh appear to be a key concern. Saleh ruled Yemen with an autocratic hand for nearly 40 years until he was forced out and replaced by Hadi in 2012 after an uprising. But he remained in Yemen and kept the loyalty of many military commanders.

One Yemeni official Friday estimated that 70 percent of the army is loyal to Saleh, including many of the best armed and trained units based around the country.

Those pro-Saleh troops have been fighting alongside the Iranian-allied Houthis, enabling them to take over the capital Sanaa and much of the country over the past months -- at least 10 of Yemen's 21 provinces.

Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunni-led allies in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East view the Houthi takeover as an attempt by Iran to establish a proxy on the Saudi kingdom's southern border. Iran and the Houthis deny that Tehran arms the rebel movement, though it says it provides diplomatic and humanitarian support.

Washington said the U.S. is providing refueling tankers and surveillance flights for the Saudi operations, and there are several U.S. troops working in the operations center, but the U.S is not taking direct military action.

A second day of airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and its allies hammered Sanaa and five other provinces, hitting bases of units loyal to Saleh. They struck in Saleh's stronghold of Samhan, outside Sanaa, where Saleh is believed to have fled, and the Houthis' main stronghold, the mountainous northern region of Saada, where the group's leader Abdul-Malik Houthi is located.

At least 24 civilians were killed in Friday's strikes, bringing the toll from two days to 45 civilians, the Houthi-run Interior Ministry said.

Yemeni security officials said about 80 fighters from Houthi or Saleh forces have been killed in the strikes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The casualty figures could not be independently confirmed.

Also Friday, Saudi and Egyptian warships deployed to Bab al-Mandab, the strategic strait off Yemen at the entrance of the Red Sea, Egyptian military officials said. The strait gives the only access to Egypt's Suez Canal from the Arabian Sea and is a vital passage for shipping between Europe and Asia.

On his party website, Saleh proposed a cease-fire by the coalition, Hadi's forces and the Houthis -- without mentioning his own -- and a return to United Nations-sponsored peace negotiations.

But all sides appeared to be moving to confrontation in the south.

Militias and military units loyal to Hadi hold much of Aden, but pro-Saleh units control the airport and parts of the city. On Friday, a pro-Saleh force of dozens of troop carriers from the southern town of Lawdar were heading to Aden, reaching about 50 miles outside it.

In a further complication, al-Qaida militants -- who have been battling the Houthis -- control another northern district on Aden's outskirts.

Ahmed Asiri, the Saudi spokesman of the coalition campaign, known as Decisive Storm, said, "the main objective is to protect the government in Aden," referring to Hadi's supporters.

When asked about the possibility of a coalition ground deployment, he said, "We are supporting the Yemeni army and we will do what it takes to protect the legitimacy of Yemeni government."

Information for this article was contributed by Maggie Michael, Aya Batrawy, Asif Shahzad, Amir Vahdat and Lolita Baldor of The Associated Press.

A Section on 03/28/2015

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