Saudi Arabia, allies launch air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen

Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir announces Saudi Arabia has carried out air strikes in Yemen against the Houthi militias who have seized control of the nation, during a news conference in Washington March 25, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

US providing support

Jubeir said the assaults had been launched in response to a direct request by Hadi, who supported Washington's campaign of deadly drone strikes on a powerful al-Qaida branch based in Yemen. He has been holed up in Aden with loyalist forces since he fled Sanaa in February.

Hadi remains in his base in Aden and was "in high spirits", one of his aides said after the operation began.

A senior leader of Yemen's Houthi movement said the Saudi air strikes amounted to aggression against his country and warned they would set off a "wide war" in the region.

Houthi-run al-Masirah television reported that the Saudi-led air strikes had hit a residential neighbourhood north of Sanaa and caused dozens of casualties. It also urged medical personnel to report to hospitals in Sanaa immediately.

No independent verification of any casualties was immediately possible.

The White House said in a statement late on Wednesday the United States supported the operation, led by the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and that President Barack Obama had authorized US "logistical and intelligence support".

Although the news sparked jitters in the oil market, Asian importers said they were not immediately worried about supply disruptions.

Most oil tankers from Arab producers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq have to pass Yemen's coastlines via the narrow Gulf of Aden in order to get through the Red Sea and Suez Canal to Europe.

The 40 km (25 mile)-wide strait between Yemen and Djibouti and the Strait of Hormuz between the Arabian peninsula and Iran are both considered chokepoints to global oil supplies by the US Energy Information Administration.