Saudi-led airstrikes on weapons caches in Yemen’s rebel-held capital on Monday caused massive explosions that shattered windows, sent residents scrambling for shelter and killed a local TV presenter.
The explosions were the most powerful seen in the city since a Saudi-led air campaign against Iran-allied Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, began last month. The blasts deposited a layer of soot on the top floors of residential buildings and left the streets littered with glass. Anti-aircraft fire rattled across the city in response.
Mushroom clouds rose over Fag Atan, in the mountainous outskirts of Sanaa, where the capital’s largest weapons caches are located. The site has been targeted several times during the three-week air campaign.
A Yemeni official said the Saudi-led warplanes are demolishing parts of the mountain, hoping to uncover and destroy Scud missiles. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Some 6 kilometers (4 miles) away from Fag Atan, cars were damaged and charred, shop fronts were shattered and the windows were blown out of office buildings.
The Houthis’ TV network al-Masirah said Mohammed Shamsan, a TV presenter for another network, was killed and that members of his crew were wounded. Ambulances were rushing to the site of the explosions, and al-Masirah aired a statement by health authorities calling on citizens to donate blood.
Al-Masirah said 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in the bombing. It was not immediately possible to confirm those figures.
Residents posted videos and pictures of the explosions, and the damage they had caused, on social media.
“The hanging ceiling and chandelier fell because of the explosions,” resident Mohammed Mohsen said.
Saudi Arabia and allied countries began launching airstrikes on March 26, hoping to roll back the rebels, who seized Sanaa in September and have overrun large parts of the country with the help of security forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Western governments and Sunni Arab countries say the Houthis get arms from Iran. Iran and the rebels deny that, though the Islamic Republic has provided political and humanitarian support to the group.
Rebel leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi struck a defiant tone on Sunday, saying: “The great Yemeni people will never surrender and never be subjugated.”
Fighting meanwhile intensified in the southern port city of Aden, where the Houthis and Saleh loyalists are battling youth militias and forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country last month.
The Houthis and their allies have been trying to take over Aden for weeks. On Monday, heavy fighting erupted near the airport and in the central al-Arish district between the Houthis and local armed groups formed by residents to defend their neighborhoods, witnesses said.
Source: AP
