SANAA ¨C The Saudi-led coalition that¡¯s fighting against Shiite rebels in Yemen said it completed a blockade of the country¡¯s ports and is ready to step up airstrikes.
Bombing missions are seeking to stop the Shiite Houthis from moving forces between Yemen¡¯s cities, Ahmed Asseri, a Saudi military officer, told reporters in Riyadh on Monday. Coalition aircraft and warships targeted the rebels as they advanced toward Aden, the southern port that¡¯s the last stronghold of Saudi Arabia¡¯s ally in Yemen, President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi. Shipping routes to and from the ports are under the coalition¡¯s control, Asseri said.
The conflict in Yemen has escalated the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which has ties to the rebels. It has further destabilized a region that holds more than half the world¡¯s oil and is already wracked by wars in Syria and Iraq.
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