Yemen says S Arabia looking for pretext to continue aggression

Yemen’s army spokesman says Saudi Arabia has been looking for an excuse to continue its military aggression against Yemen after failing in the first phase of its attacks.

Contrary to what the Saudis claim, the operation dubbed ‘Restoration of Hope’ was only intended to serve Riyadh’s own interests, Colonel Sharaf Luqman said on Tuesday.

“After suffering defeat in achieving their objectives, the Saudis were looking for an excuse to continue their aggression,” he said, stressing, “The Saudi attack on Yemen is not a war but an aggression” 

Luqman said the devastating war on the impoverished Arab country was not launched by an alliance of several countries but simply by Saudi Arabia.

Luqman also blamed Saudi Arabia for initiating the war on Yemen, accusing Riyadh of covering up its war crimes against its neighbor.

“The infrastructure of Yemen is being destroyed under the bombardment of Saudi fighter jets,” he said, adding, however, that Saudi Arabia’s relentless aggression will strengthen the Yemenis’ determination to respond.

According to the Yemeni army, the country was the target of more than 3,100 airstrikes over the past month.

In their latest attacks, Saudi warplanes bombarded various areas of Yemen, including a military base in the capital, Sana’a, on Tuesday.

According to local sources, over 30 missiles also hit the northwestern Yemeni city of Sa’ada.

Saudi warplanes also attacked the Yemeni city of Khormaksar in the southwestern Aden Province.

Yemen’s al-Massira television reported that the capital, Sana’a, has also been the target of shelling since Monday midnight.

On Monday, over 30 Yemeni citizens lost their lives when Saudi fighter jets bombarded various areas of the southwestern province of Ta’izz.

Four civilians, including a woman, were also killed and several others injured in the bombing campaign in the southern city of Aden.

Saudi Arabia launched its air campaign against Yemen on March 26 - without a United Nations mandate - in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to the country’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

On April 21, Riyadh announced the end of the so-called "Decisive Storm," the first phase of its unlawful military operations, which has killed nearly 1,000 people and injured some 3,000 people so far, but airstrikes have continued in a second phase, called "Restoration of Hope," with Saudi bombers targeting different areas across the country.

According to Yemen’s Health Ministry, the month-long Saudi aggression has killed nearly 150 children and around 100 women.

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