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Saudi jets pound civilian sites in southwestern Yemen

Yemenis check the damage following a Saudi airstrike against a missile depot on Fajj Attan hill in the capital, Sana’a, April 20, 2015. (© AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes against Yemen have entered their 27th day, with military aircraft targeting more locations across the impoverished Arab country.

Saudi warplanes pounded an educational center and a college in the southwestern city of Ibb, situated 194 kilometers (121 miles) south of the capital, Sana’a, on Thursday.

There is still no word on possible casualties.

The development came only hours after Saudi fighter jets launched at least five airstrikes against a military base in the southwestern city of Ta’izz, which lies 260 kilometers (166 miles) south of the capital, following the withdrawal of al-Qaeda militants.

Also late on Wednesday, Saudi fighter jets bombarded al-Jada’an area in the Medghal district of the central Ma’rib Province.

Separately, the Saudi warplanes fired missiles into a number of buildings in al-Safia area of the northwestern province of Sa’ada. Saudi military forces also fired a barrage of mortar rounds at a border region in the same Yemeni province.

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the US Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir answers questions during a press conference at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, April 22, 2015. (© AFP)

 

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has warned Yemen’s popular committees of a “response” in case of an “aggressive move” by the fighters or their allies.

“If the Houthis or their allies make any aggressive moves there will be a response,” Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir said at a Wednesday press conference in Washington, DC.

The Saudi envoy further claimed that a second phase had begun in the war, following the declaration of an end to the first phase, codenamed as the so-called Decisive Storm against Yemen late on Tuesday.

Nearly 4,000 Yemenis killed, injured

A monitoring group has put the number of the casualties from the Saudi airstrikes in Yemen at around 4,000.

The Yemeni Civil Coalition said on Thursday that during 27 days of airstrikes, about 7,000 homes and 21 mosques were destroyed.

According to the monitoring group, the attacks left nearly 3,700 people dead and injured, with 373 children and 300 women among the casualties.

Yemeni Civil Coalition also said four journalists are among the dead.

The Saudi airstrikes have heavily damaged Yemen’s infrastructure including its airports, factories, hospitals. Reports also say Riyadh used unconventional weapons during the first stage of its aggression against Yemen.

 

Yemenis carry their belongings after their family house was hit during a Saudi airstrike against a missile depot on Fajj Attan hill in the capital, Sana’a, April 20, 2015. (© AFP)

 

Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 - without a UN mandate - in a bid to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.

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