CAIRO/ADEN, May 12 (Reuters) – Saudi-led air strikes hit the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday hours before a five-day humanitarian truce was set to begin, and Washington cautioned against “provocative actions” after Iran dispatched a cargo ship to Yemen.
The United States said it was tracking Iranian warships accompanying the vessel bound for the port of Hodaida, and urged Iran instead to use a U.N. distribution hub in Djibouti to provide help to people in the war-damaged Arabian Peninsula country.
“We’re certainly tracking this convoy closely,” U.S. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told a daily briefing. “We would discourage any provocative actions.”
Iranian warships will escort the vessel, a naval commander was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
Seeking to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, an alliance of Gulf Arab nations has since March 26 been bombing the Iranian-backed Houthi militia and allied army units that control much of Yemen.
Backed by Washington, top oil exporter Saudi Arabia worries that the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi rebels are a proxy for what they see as moves by arch-rival Iran to expand its sway in their backyard.
Saudi-led air strikes on a rocket base in Sanaa on Monday killed 90 people and wounded 300, a local official was quoted as telling Saba. If confirmed, the death toll would be among the highest in a single bombing incident throughout Yemen’s war.
Sanaa residents said there were three air strikes on a base for army contingents aligned with the Houthis in the north of the capital on Tuesday, sending up a column of smoke.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was quoted as saying on Monday that the truce in Yemen may be extended if “(aid deliveries) succeeded and if the Houthis and their allies don’t engage in hostile activities”.