Sanaa (AFP) April 13, 2015– Riyadh on Sunday demanded Tehran stop backing Shiite rebels in Yemen but insisted it is “not at war with Iran”, as Saudi-led warplanes launched fresh strikes on rebel forces.
In the third week of the air strikes mounted by Saudi Arabia and its allies, the International Organization for Migration said it flew a first plane-load of 143 foreigners out of Yemen.
At a gathering in Doha, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for the resumption of Yemeni peace talks and for “a cessation of military moves as soon as possible”.
Saudi Arabia heads a coalition of nine Arab countries which since March 26 has carried out air strikes against the Huthi Shiite rebels who overran Sanaa in September.
Riyadh feared the rebels would take over the entire country and move it into the orbit of Shiite Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabia’s regional rival.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal urged Tehran not to “assist the criminal activities” of the Huthis “against the legitimate order of Yemen and (to) stop the delivery of weapons and aid” to the rebels.
The rebels include forces who have remained loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh after he was forced from power in 2012 following a year of nationwide protests against his three-decade rule.
The anti-government forces have been locked in battles against forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
Since the air campaign began, fighting has flared in 15 of Yemen’s 22 provinces.
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri accused the rebels of “trying to take the battle into Saudi territory… to ease pressure on their leaders.”
Assiri also said the coalition deployed helicopter gunships along the frontier with Yemen, after cross-border attacks that killed Saudi security personnel.