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Saudi King vows to continue Yemen campaign | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Saudi King Salman attends the opening session of the Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on March 28, 2015. (EPA)


Saudi King Salman attends the opening session of the Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on March 28, 2015. (EPA)

Saudi King Salman attends the opening session of the Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on March 28, 2015. (EPA)

Sharm El-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz has vowed that the military intervention in Yemen will continue until the country is stable and safe.

In comments earlier today at the Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said: “Operation Decisive Storm will continue until it achieves its goals to ensure security and stability for the people of Yemen.”

King Salman is leading the Saudi delegation at the Red Sea resort, the Yemen crisis is expected to be a major point of discussion at the summit.

Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was forced to flee Aden earlier this week, is also attending the summit. King Salman met with Hadi on Saturday ahead of the conference to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing military intervention in Yemen. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi also attended the meeting.

In his speech at the Arab League summit, Yemeni President Hadi repeated condemnation of the Shi’ite Houthi group and its Iranian backers.

“I tell Iran’s puppet [the Houthis]: ‘You are the one that destroyed Yemen with your political immaturity’,” he said.

He called for his supporters in Yemen to rise up in peaceful protest against the Houthis, while also offering his explicit backing of the regional military intervention in Yemen.

Egyptian President Sisi renewed calls for the establishment of a joint Arab military force to address the numerous regional crises, including the unfolding situation in Yemen.

Egypt is participating in the Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen’s Houthi militia. Sisi stressed that the objective of the intervention is to “preserve Yemen’s unity and the peace of its territories.”

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jabir Al-Sabah earlier affirmed that the Iran-backed Houthi movement poses a major threat to the region.

“Rapid developments underway in Yemen pose a threat to our security,” he said in his speech.

Saudi Arabia has secured complete control of Yemen’s skies and is able to strike Houthi targets across the country at will, Defense Ministry adviser Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said on Friday.

In his second press briefing for Operation Decisive Storm, Asiri confirmed that Saudi warplanes had struck a Houthi-controlled “ballistic missile platform,” among other targets. He also confirmed that air strikes had targeted a number of military bases under Houthi control around Aden, including Al-End Air Base which had subsequently been recaptured by Yemen’s legitimate military.

Local sources reported that air strikes continued throughout Friday night, ceasing early Saturday morning.