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Saudi-Led Airstrikes Resume in Yemen's Aden After Truce Expires

Air strikes by Saudi-led forces hit Houthi rebel positions in and around the southern Yemeni city of Aden overnight after a truce expired.
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/ Source: Reuters

Airstrikes by Saudi-led forces hit Houthi rebel positions in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, residents said Monday, after a five-day humanitarian truce expired.

Bombings struck the rebel-held presidential palace in the downtown area and the international airport, which is contested between the Houthis and local fighters.

Yemen's foreign minister told Reuters the Saudi-led coalition had decided not to renew the truce because the agreement had been repeatedly broken by the Houthis. The rebels were not immediately available for comment.

"That's what we said before — that if they start again, we will start again," said Reyad Yassin Abdullah from Yemen's exiled government in Riyadh. The coalition was not considering any new cease-fire, he added.

There was no word on any casualties.

Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies have been conducting an offensive against the Houthis and units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh for more than six weeks, saying the rebels are backed by Shiite Muslim power Iran.

The campaign has yet to reverse the Houthis' advance into Aden and along battlefronts across Yemen's south.

A five-day truce that began Tuesday halted the airstrikes and allowed humanitarian aid into the blockaded country, though residents of the remote southern provinces of Shabwa, Dhalea and Abyan said heavy ground fighting persisted despite the agreed pause.

- Reuters