SANAA (APP/Agencies) – Saudi-led warplanes bombed Yemen’s main international airport and a renegade troop base in the capital Sunday, as Arab leaders vowed to pummel Iranian-backed rebels until they surrender.
The raids on the country’s main airport came just hours after UN workers were evacuated following deadly fighting that has sent tensions soaring between Tehran and other Middle East powers.
India and Pakistan also moved to airlift their citizens from the chaos-wracked country.
Yemen’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has urged his Arab allies to keep bombing until the Huthi Shiite rebels are defeated, branding them Iran’s “puppet”.
His Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin said there could be “no negotiations and dialogue” with the rebels “until the legitimate government has control over all Yemeni lands”.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said at a regional summit in Egypt the offensive would last until the rebels “surrender” their weapons and withdraw from areas they seized.
The Huthis and allied renegade military units have overrun much of Yemen and prompted Hadi to flee what had been his last remaining refuge in the main southern city Aden for Saudi Arabia.
Dozens of people have been killed in days of clashes in Aden, dimming prospects of Hadi returning any time soon.
At least 38 people were killed Sunday near the oil region of Usaylan in southern Shabwa province after tribesmen attacked rebel positions, security and tribal sources said.
In the capital, witnesses reported three loud explosions and a large fire when Sanaa International Airport was bombed during a fourth night of Saudi-led air raids.
