SANAA - The number of civilians killed in Saudi-led air strikes on a missile depot in Yemen’s capital Monday has risen to 28, a medic said, updating an earlier death toll of 18.
Among the dead were three employees at Al-Yemen Al-Yawm television channel, including a journalist, the source said, adding the toll may mount due to a large number of people in critical condition.
The two strikes on a missile depot in the Fajj Attan area of Sanaa sparked explosions that flattened nearby houses, shook faraway neighbourhoods and sent clouds of thick smoke billowing over the capital.
Medics said at least 15 civilians were killed and dozens wounded and there were fears of a much higher death toll.
The hilltop base belongs to the missile brigade of the elite Republican Guard, which remained loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who has been accused of siding with Huthi rebels in their fight against the government.
Fires had broken out at the base and a nearby petrol station, witnesses said, and the scorching heat could be felt from a distance. The Shia rebels have seized control of large parts of the Arabian Peninsula nation, including Sanaa, and fought fierce battles with pro-government forces.
Calls have been growing for peace talks to end the conflict, but authorities on Monday rejected an Iranian offer to mediate talks. “Any mediation effort coming from Iran is unacceptable because Iran is involved in the Yemen issue,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin said on the sidelines of an economic meeting in Kuwait City. “The Huthis and Saleh forces must withdraw from all cities and villages of Yemen, including Sanaa and Aden, return to (their northern stronghold of) Saada as civilians, and lay down their arms,” Yassin said.
“After that we can talk about dialogue and a political solution. But now there is no room for negotiations,” he said.
In a vital show of support for President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, the military command of 25,000 troops in Yemen’s largest province said they were standing behind the embattled leader.
“The officers, non-commissioned officers and the soldiers of the First Military Region based in Hadramawt back President Hadi, who represents constitutional legitimacy,” their chief, General Abdelrahman Al-Halili, said in a statement.
But rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi vowed his forces would never surrender.
“Our Yemeni people will never give in - it will resist in the face of the savage aggression,” Huthi said in televised statement on Sunday.
He promised to fight back using “all means and options” and said Riyadh “has no right to interfere” in the country.
Menawhile, a Saudi soldier was killed in a barrage of mortar and other fire along the border with Yemen, the interior ministry said on Monday.
The soldier is the eighth to die since warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition on March 26 began airstrikes in Yemen to stop a southern advance by Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
Army troops and members of the Border Guards force “were subjected to heavy shooting and mortar shells from inside the Yemeni border” at 11:00 PM (2000 GMT) Sunday in Saudi Arabia’s Najran region, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the interior ministry spokesman.
“The Saudi side responded and the situation was brought under control,” the spokesman said, adding that two other security personnel were wounded and taken to hospital.
Saudi Arabia has reinforced the border with artillery, tanks and hilltop lookout posts to block the incursion of any Huthis from their traditional highland stronghold just over the border.
The United Nations says hundreds of people have died in Yemen, where the rebels are allied with army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
They are fighting loyalists of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the rebels’ advance for Riyadh last month.
Riyadh has accused Iran, the main Shia power, of backing the rebels and fears a Tehran-friendly regime taking control of the country on its southern border.
The coalition says it has carried out more than 2,000 strikes since the start of the campaign, gaining complete control of Yemeni airspace and knocking out rebel infrastructure.
- Iran mediation rejected -
The United Nations says the fighting and air strikes have left hundreds dead and thousands wounded, and there has been increasing concern of a huge humanitarian crisis.