Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes in Yemen targeting military bases and territory under the control of Houthi rebels in capital Sana’a, which they took over last month prompting President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to escape to the city of Aden. President Hadi – who is an ally of the US and also enjoys the support of Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that includes Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Egypt and others – has been compelled to remain in hiding. Whether he is even present in Yemen is not known. Saudi airstrikes come at a time when Houthi rebels – who follow a variant of Shiite Islam – appeared set to run over Aden, taking over one of the two-largest cities in the poor country. Houthi rebels are reportedly backed by Iran whereas Saudi Arabia over the last two decades has spent billions in Yemen to export its ideology into the country. As is the case in much of the Middle East, sectarian rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are yet again engaged in war in another country.
With fresh airstrikes, Saudi Arabia has sent a clear message that it will not stand by idle as Yemen heads towards a full-blown civil war and collapses. Reports suggest that the kingdom is also considering launching a ground offensive, which would be the first time Saudi troops enter in Yemen. The US so far has restricted its role to providing intelligence support to Saudi Arabia. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the US’ greatest concern in Yemen is its Al Qaeda affiliate known as Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). While Shiite Houthis and Sunni AQAP are rivals and have often clashed with each other, the latter still has gained a lot from the destabilisation caused by the former, giving it more room to operate and launch attacks from its base in central Yemen. It is clear that the conflict in Yemen is going to take a turn for the worse as GCC members directly intervene to counter the Houthis. Whether they plan to target AQAP and ISIS too is not known at this point in time. There are rumours that Saudi Arabia has also requested Pakistan’s assistance. Pakistan would do well to stay clear of the mess in the Middle East, and not repeat mistakes that it is paying for to this day.