Arab coalition says Yemen airstrikes can last for 6 months; claim rebels are moving scud missiles to

[EmperorScorpious]

[quote]Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told fellow leaders the region faced "unprecedented" threats.

And Saudi King Salman vowed that the air strikes would continue until they bring "security" to the Yemeni people.

But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Arab leaders to "lay down clear guidelines to peacefully resolve the crisis in Yemen".

Saudi warships evacuated dozens of foreign diplomats from Aden hours before the kingdom launched the air strikes on the advancing rebels, state television said on Saturday.

Riyadh has vowed to do "whatever it takes" to prevent Hadi's overthrow.

But experts say the Saudis will be reluctant to send in ground troops for fear of getting bogged down in a protracted conflict.

[B]The Huthis are backed by army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in 2012 after a year-long popular uprising[/B] and is accused of supporting the rebels.

In a televised speech Saturday, Saleh urged the Arab League to help end the crisis "peacefully", saying the "problem will not be solved with strikes".

Gulf diplomats said the bombing could last up to six months, and accused Iran of providing "logistical and military support" to the rebels.

[B]"According to estimates, there are 5,000 Iranians, (members of the pro-Tehran Lebanese movement) Hezbollah and Iraqi militia on the ground in Yemen," said one Gulf official, who did not want to be named.

It was not possible to independently verify the claim.[/B]

The Gulf officials said Riyadh and its allies had decided to intervene after satellite imagery in late January [B]showed the movement of Scud missiles north towards the Saudi border, with the capacity to strike a large part of the kingdom's territory.[/B]

A coalition spokesman told reporters Saturday that "most" of the Huthis' missile capabilities were believed to have been destroyed in the air strikes.[/quote]

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/un-staff-flee-yemen-hadi-urges-decisive-campaign-133105284.html[/url]

Meanwhile, the UN have evacuated its entire staff (said in this same article). Looks like this is just the beginning of the conflict there.

I also feel Iraqi militias are unlikely, as they have their own war against Daesh in their own country.

Article also states that the Yemen president "won't return to Yemen until the conflict is over" - I doubt that's going to boost the morale of his troops.

[Richoxen]

What a blatant fabrication.

[ImperialGuard]

[QUOTE=Richoxen;47415339]What a blatant fabrication.[/QUOTE]

If you have an insider source please tell us.

[Richoxen]

[QUOTE=ImperialGuard;47415494]If you have an insider source please tell us.[/QUOTE]

"Gulf official, who did not want to be named"
"It was not possible to independently verify the claim."
Non-Existent "satellite imagery"

[EmperorScorpious]

[QUOTE=ImperialGuard;47415494]If you have an insider source please tell us.[/QUOTE]

The Iraqi militia thing should be common sense, like I said in the OP.

[url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/28/why-it-may-suit-iran-to-let-the-saudis-win-in-yemen.html]Also, Iran hasn't supported the rebels as much as people think; their focus is in Iraq against DAESH right now[/url]

[Sableye]

Where did they get scuds, I thought the shelf life on those expired a decade ago. Anyway any compident anti-missile system today can intercept a scud

Seems incredibly optimistic, these guys barely took over the capital and only that by attacking the most key government buildings the rest of the area has been contested