Roundup: Fighting, airstrikes continue in Yemen despite declared halt of air raids

Battles between the Shiite Houthi group and tribal militia continued in Yemen's southern provinces early on Wednesday with warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition forces bombing military targets, despite the declared suspension of air raids by the Saudi defense ministry.

"The tribal fighters will continue to fight against the Houthis because they haven't decided to cease-fire or withdraw from the southern regions," said a commander of the tribal militia loyal to the exiled Yemen leader, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Southern Movement, the biggest pro-secession group in Yemen's south, said its fighters would confront the Houthi forces until it recapture all the cities that are under control the Houthi group in the country's southern part.

In southern province of Taiz, the Houthi-run Masira TV channel said on Wednesday morning that the Houthi fighters, with support of army units, imposed full control over the 35th Armored Brigade loyal to Hadi.

Local residents told Xinhua by phone that the Houthi forces shelled the brigade's troops and then seized the camp after a few hours of fighting.

At the same time, local security sources confirmed to Xinhua that warplanes of the Saudi-led forces renewed airstrikes on Taiz city, the provincial capital, hours after Riyadh declared suspension of four-week airstrikes against the Houthi group in Yemen.

The Saudi defense ministry said on Tuesday night that the coalition forces decided to halt the Decisive Storm Operation against the Houthis launched since March 26, because the forces had eliminated threats against Saudi Arabia and the region by destroying heavy weaponry and missiles of the Houthi group.

The Saudis said the campaign has entered a new stage, and branded it with a new codename called "Renewal of Hope" that would focus on rebuilding the country while denying the rebels operational movement, adding that it will also work to find political solution to the crisis, protect civilians and support evacuation and relief operations.

The Houthi group has not responded to Saudi Arabia's announcement. However, Abdu al-Janady, spokesman for the General People's Congress (GPC), the biggest party in Yemen controlled by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, said Tuesday night that the party welcome Saudi Arabia's decision to end airstrikes on the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh.

The spokesperson said he hopes that the end of aggression on Yemen would be the end of any foreign military interference in the country.

He also renewed the party's call to all the Yemeni parties to resume dialogue to reach a solution to end the political crisis and to rebuild the country after the Saudi-led aggression.

Also on Wednesday, Iran, which has for long been accused of arming and financing the Houthis in Yemen, welcomed Riyadh's announcement to halt to the air campaign, saying it is "a positive measure."

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said the decision would help the humanitarian aids get to the war-hit people, adding that the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Red Crescent Society are considering the possible ways of sending their humanitarian aids to Yemen.

Tehran, since the very beginning, has rejected the military intervention in the Yemen, and insisted that "diplomacy and dialog are the only ways to tackle the regional issues," she said.

Saudi Arabia bombed the army troops loyal to Saleh over the past four weeks for his alleged support for the Houthi group.

Meanwhile, a U.S. drone strike hit a vehicle in the coastal city of Mukalla, the provincial capital of the southeastern Hadramout province, and killed seven al-Qaida militants. The al-Qaida branch has seized several towns in Hadramout as the terror group tris to take the advantage of the chaos in the southern regions.

The coalition forces have raided the Shiite Houthi group and forces loyal to Saleh since March 26 when Hadi fled Aden and took refuge in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The airstrikes and battles in the southern provinces have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the capital and several other major cities to seek shelter in villages that have few military targets.

According to reports from the Yemeni health and interior ministries, about 700 people were killed and 3,000 wounded during this period of time.

The airstrikes have also caused a humanitarian disaster in the Arab country.

Fuel and electricity supply have been cut off for almost a week in Sanaa, Aden and Taiz, the three major cities in the country, where a large number of people do not have access to drinking water.

The exiled Yemeni government said in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that negotiations will not be held until the Houthi fighters are disarmed and retreat from areas they seized since September 2014.

However, the leader of the Houthi group, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, condemned the Saudi-led military operations on Sunday and vowed to take tougher actions to confront the coalition forces and Sunni tribal fighters. Endit