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Saudi-led coalition asks civilian to leave before bombing Yemen's Saada province

Xinhua, May 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Saudi-led coalition warned on Friday that all Yemen's Saada province is a military target from 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), Al Arabiya news reported.

The warning came hours after Saudi-led forces dropped leaflets, asking residents in Saada to leave before 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).

The coalition of Arab and Gulf countries will target Houthis' locations in Saada, northern region in Yemen, the report said, adding that all main roads in the province are opened for civilians to leave until sunset.

Early in the day, the coalition forces destroyed the headquarter of Houthi militants in Saada, a telecommunication complex and a mine factory.

The escalation came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry backed here a Saudi plan to initiate a five-day truce in Yemen for humanitarian reliefs. He said if Houthis agrees to the cease-fire, the truce could be renewed.

While, the Houthis continued to attack the Saudi border city of Najran, where deaths and injuries were reported.

Airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition on Houthi rebels in Yemen have been going on since late March. More than 1,000 people have been killed and 3,000 injured in the airstrikes and in fierce fighting between the Shiite Houthi group and tribal militia loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Riyadh and Washington have conditioned the proposed cease-fire deal on Houthi rebels agreeing to abide by its terms. Endit