page_title: Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
section_title: Airstrikes
hierarchical_section_title: Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen / Operation Restoring Hope / Airstrikes
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry listens as Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announces that a cease fire in Yemen will begin Tuesday, following a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council on May 8, 2015, in Paris, France. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen is an intervention launched by Saudi Arabia on 26 March 2015, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, in response to calls from the pro-Saudi president of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after he was ousted by the Houthi movement due to economic and political grievances, and fled to Saudi Arabia.
  Code-named Operation Decisive Storm, the intervention initially consisted of a bombing campaign on Houthi rebels and later a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces into Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has attacked the positions of the Houthi militia, and loyalists of the former President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, allegedly supported by Iran.
  Fighter jets and ground forces from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Academi took part in the operation. Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia made their airspace, territorial waters, and military bases available to the coalition. The United States provided intelligence and logistical support, including aerial refueling and search-and-rescue for downed coalition pilots.
context_section_description: At the operation's announcement, coalition leadership stressed that their campaign would attempt a political solution and that they would continue the air and naval blockade. Airstrikes resumed almost immediately following the coalition's announcement of the end of Operation Decisive Storm.
  On 22 April airstrikes continued in Taiz, where an army base was hit shortly after Houthi fighters took it over, and Aden, where an airstrike targeted Houthi tanks moving into a contested district, among other locations, such as Al Hudaydah and Ibb. The Houthis continued to fight for territory, with a Houthi spokesman saying the group would be prepared for peace talks on the condition of "a complete halt of attacks". The previous round of UN-sponsored talks collapsed after Houthi rebels attacked Hadi's residence in Sanaʽa.
  By 26 April, coalition forces were striking what they described as Houthi military targets in Sanaʽa and Aden and in other locations, notably in Sa'ada province near the Saudi border, nearly every night. On 26 April, after midnight, airstrikes struck Houthi and pro-Saleh positions and targets in and around Sanaʽa, Aden, and the Ma'rib and Ad Dali' governorates, backing up anti-Houthi fighters in the latter three locations, with more than 90 rebels reportedly killed. Coalition warships shelled fighters near Aden's commercial port. Saudi warplanes also targeted Houthis in the Sa'dah Governorate, while Saudi artillery fired on targets in the Hajjah Governorate along the border. The Saudi National Guard was deployed on the border.
  On 28 April, Sanaʽa International Airport was bombed by Saudi F-15 fighters to prevent an Iranian plane belonging to Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) from landing, while it was approaching to land. The fighters had warned the plane to turn back, in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart its landing, but the Iranian pilot ignored the "illegal warnings", saying that, on the basis of international law, his plane did not need further permission to land.
  On the night of 6 May 2015, the Saudi-led coalition carried out 130 airstrikes in Yemen in a 24-hour period. At first, coalition spokesperson Ahmed Asiri admitted that schools and hospitals were targeted but claimed that these were used as weapon storage sites. Asiri later claimed that his words had been mistranslated. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen Johannes Van Der Klaauw said that these bombings constituted a war crime. "The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is a contravention international humanitarian law," he said. He continued to say that he was particularly concerned about airstrikes on Saada "where scores of civilians were reportedly killed and thousands were forced to flee their homes after the coalition declared the entire governate a military target".
  The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Saudi chargé d'affaires, and the Iranian Parliament and the Iranian Red Crescent Society blasted Saudi Arabia for blocking Iranian humanitarian aid.
  The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) "strongly urged" the coalition to stop targeting airports and seaports so that aid could reach all Yemenis.
  ICRC and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said that they were extremely concerned about damage to the airports at Sanaa and to the port city of Hodeidah.
  Overnight on 29 and 30 April, SA was reported to have airdropped arms to anti-Houthi fighters in Taiz.
  On 30 April airstrikes hit five provinces. New airstrikes hit SIA, completely halting aid deliveries.
  On 6 May coalition airstrikes targeted the Police Training Center in the Dhamar Governorate, damaging nearby houses meanwhile the civil aviation authority announced it would re-open the airport to receive aid.
  Coalition airstrikes targeted the houses of Saleh in Sanaʽa in the early hours of 10 May, eyewitnesses said. Khabar, a Yemeni news agency allied with Saleh said that the former president and his family were unharmed.
  The Moroccan government said on 10 May that one of its Genera
caption: Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir announced a five-day ceasefire in Yemen, 8 May 2015
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