Saudi-led coalition bombs Yemen despite calling off air campaign

A man looks at damage in his house caused by an April 20 air strike that hit a nearby army weapons depot in Sanaa April 21, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen shows that the Sunni monarchy will stand up to Iran and that Arab states can protect their interests without US leadership, the kingdom's ambassador to Britain, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, told Reuters in an interview.

Saudi Arabia's announcement that it would end its campaign cast doubt over its next moves against its Houthi enemies, whose seizure of swaths of Yemen in recent months stirred Saudi fears that Iran is acquiring decisive influence in a country Riyadh sees as its backyard.

A Gulf official told Reuters that the new phase would see a downscaling of military activity by the Saudi-led coalition with no further bombing of fixed military targets.

US authorities, increasingly concerned that a lethal al Qaeda branch is exploiting Yemen's chaos to expand, encouraged the Saudis in recent days to curtail the air assault and open the way for negotiations, a US official said. Washington has struggled to maintain its campaign of drone strikes there despite evacuation of American military personnel from the country.

On the political front, the official said, there was movement toward a dialogue, and that both Saleh's followers and the Houthis should have a voice in the discussions.

Saleh welcomed the Saudi announcement and called for talks, while the Houthis have yet to react beyond calling for mass protests against the Saudi "aggression" for Thursday.

A Yemeni official told Reuters that the warring parties were discussing a seven-point peace plan offered by neighboring Oman, which has stayed neutral in the conflict, involving the reinstatement of Hadi's government and a Houthi withdrawal from leading cities, previously non-starters for the group.

The White House on Wednesday said Yemen remained unstable and much more work needed to be done in the region on a diplomatic solution, despite the declared halt to the Saudi-led bombing.