Saudi-led warplanes bomb Saleh party HQ in Yemen capital

Published July 6, 2015
It came as some GPC members were meeting the UN's Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in another part of the city. ─ AP/file
It came as some GPC members were meeting the UN's Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in another part of the city. ─ AP/file

SANAA: Saudi-led warplanes have bombed the Sanaa headquarters of the Yemeni party headed by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied to Shiite Houthi insurgents, the party said on Monday.

The overnight attack on the offices of the General People's Congress (GPC) caused “some deaths” among employees and guards of the building in the south of the capital, party official Faeqa al-Sayed said.

It came as some GPC members were meeting the UN's Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in another part of the city.

Sayed called the attack “an attempt to derail the UN envoy's mission”.

Cheikh Ahmed arrived in Yemen on Sunday and called for a humanitarian ceasefire after months of conflict in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula nation.

Read: Air strikes destroy part of Yemen’s Unesco heritage site

“As we were conducting consultations with the UN envoy to find solutions to the political crisis gripping the country... Saudi forces bombed the party headquarters, killing employees and guards and destroying the building,” Sayed was quoted as saying by the GPC's news site.

A Saudi-led coalition began a campaign of air strikes against Houthi rebels and their allies in March after the insurgents seized Sanaa and then advanced south, forcing the government to flee to Riyadh.

More than 21.1 million people ─ over 80 per cent of Yemen's population ─ need aid, with 13m facing food shortages.

Upwards of 2,800 people have been killed in Yemen since March, according to UN figures.

Saleh, who ruled for 33 years before being forced from power in 2012 after a bloody year-long uprising, threw the support of his loyalists in the army behind the Houthis.

Opinion

Editorial

Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....
Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...