Saudi-led strikes hit Yemen's Aden as peace talks fail

Saudi-led warplanes launched dawn raids Saturday against Shiite rebels in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, the military said, hours after peace talks in Geneva ended without agreement.


At least 15 airstrikes rocked the northern, eastern and western approaches to Aden, said a pro-government military source.

"The objective is to close the noose around the Houthi rebels in Aden and assist the popular resistance committees" loyal to exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the source said.

He said the rebels shelled several Aden neighborhoods, killing four people and wounding several others, a toll confirmed by hospital officials.

The violence came hours after the U.N.'s special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, announced Friday in Geneva that talks between the warring sides ended without agreement.

"I won't beat around the bush. There was no kind of agreement reached," the Mauritanian diplomat told reporters in the Swiss city.

The rebels, backed by fighters loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have overrun much of the Sunni-majority country, challenging the government's legitimacy and prompting Abed Rabbo to flee to Saudi Arabia.................Saudi-led strikes hit Yemen's Aden as peace talks fail | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

20/6/15