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‘S Arabia to continue bombing rebels’
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
AL-KHUBAH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it will keep up air strikes against Yemeni rebels until they pull back from its borders, as Iran warned against regional intervention in the conflict.
“We are not going to stop the bombing until the Huthis retreat tens of kilometres inside their border,” Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said on a visit to troops in the southwestern province of Jizan.
He appeared to confirm reports by rebels that Saudi warplanes continued to pummel them inside Yemen, a week after a rebel raid into Saudi territory sparked air and ground bombardment of their positions.
Two women were killed and a child was wounded on Tuesday in a Saudi air strike on a Yemeni village near the border, said the rebels, also known as Huthis.
“The air strike hit a house, martyring two women and wounding a child,” a statement on the rebel website said. Strikes also targeted a government building in the village of Shida, they said.
Prince Khaled said four Saudi soldiers were still missing but he did not comment on a Huthi video posted on the Internet of a man they said was a captured Saudi soldier.
Saudi forces have been shelling rebel positions in the 2,000-metre Jebel al-Dukhan mountain area straddling the border since last Wednesday, after the rebels killed a border guard and occupied two small villages inside Saudi territory.
It was the first overt action by Saudi forces against the Huthis since Yemen’s government launched “Operation Scorched Earth” against them in the north of the country on August 11.
But security experts say the Saudis have been providing funds and intelligence to support the Yemeni military since the outset and also took part in operations before last week.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned regional powers on Tuesday against intervention in Yemen — without identifying Saudi Arabia by name.
“Countries of the region must seriously hold back from intervening in Yemen’s internal affairs. Those who pour oil on the fire must know that they will not be spared from the smoke that billows,” Mottaki said.
Yemen, which has accused Iran of supporting the rebels, announced in October that it had captured five Iranians attempting to smuggle a boatload of weapons to them. Tehran denies helping the rebels, and a Saudi source has told AFP there is no evidence of active Iranian involvement.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
