Saudi Arabia attacks Yemen

Bab-el-Mandeb waterway
The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen Huthi advance raises fears over key waterway, Daily Mail 23.03.15

War In Yemen: Tankers Moving Unimpeded Through Bab Al-Mandeb Oil Shipment Choke Point 29.3.15

Airstrikes

 * Saudi Arabia starts bombing Yemen - envoy - RT, March 26, 2015
 * ''Saudi Arabian forces, joined by nine other countries, have launched a military operation in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi ambassador to the US said. The offensive, which started with airstrikes, will also involve “other military assets.”
 * ''According to Ambassador Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT). The US is not participating in the operation, the envoy stressed.
 * ''Al Arabiya reported that warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombed positions of Yemen’s Houthi militia, targeting their air defenses.
 * ''Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait issued a joint statement saying that they “decided to repel Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) in the country.” The Gulf states said they were responding to a “major threat” to the stability of the region, saying that their cause is to “repel Houthi aggression” in Yemen.


 * Saudi Arabia Launches Military Operations Against Houthi Targets in Yemen - Sputnik, 26.03.2015
 * ''Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies launched a military operation involving air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters, the Saudi envoy to Washington said on Wednesday.
 * ''Adel A. al-Jubeir said the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST. It began with airstrikes, but will also involve “other military assets.”
 * ''“Having Yemen fail is not an option for us,” al-Jubeir said.
 * ''Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait issued a joint statement saying that they “decided to repel Houthi militias, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State) in the country.”


 * Charles Shoebridge ‏@ShoebridgeC 2 minutes ago "Ignored by almost all US UK media, #SaudiArabia is killing Yemen civilians - including children." Cited: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-leads-bombing-military-targets-yemen-article-1.2162846 (at least 18 civilians) - https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2015/03/yemen-six-children-killed-in-saudi-arabian-airstrikes/ (children)

Joint Military Force
Arab leaders agree joint military force, after a summit dominated by a Saudi-led offensive on Shiite rebels in Yemen and the threat from Islamist extremism.

Commentary

 * Russia Behind the Headlines cites Interfax (primary source needed) cites an "expert on Oriental studies, Higher School of Economic pedagogue Leonid Isayev, who returned from a trip to Yemen on Wednesday" criticizing the Saudi offensive as unlikely to be effective. He's quoted as telling Interfax:
 * "In my opinion, the military campaign will be absolutely unsuccessful for the Saudis. I have no faith in the ability of the Saudis to achieve something in Yemen. The Army of Saudi Arabia is really nothing: there is emptiness behind beautiful gear. This army is inferior to the Yemenis by its combat readiness. The Saudi army has never fought anyone in its history. They simply cannot do that.

Isayev also points to the terrain and general Yemeni "knack for war," and more importantly that the country's populace generally supports the Houthi rebels by far over the Saudi kingdom's intervention. So he concludes "I think that unless the Saudis come to their senses," they and "the countries that get involved in the war against Yemen" are bound for defeat.