Yemeni conflict spills into Saudi Arabia

[bemildred]

Source: UPI

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 1 (UPI) -- Houthi rebels from Yemen attacked the city of Najran, Saudi Arabia, the first assault of Saudi territory since its involvement in the Yemen conflict.

Three Saudi troops were killed, as were "dozens" of Houthi rebels, Saudi officials said, as fighting crossed the border late Thursday and entered Najram province, site of a modern city of about a quarter million people. The Saudi Defense Ministry said border posts and control points were targeted in the attacks, which were defeated by airstrikes and grounds troops.

Earlier Thursday, a Saudi border guard died when a mortar shell was fired near the border with Yemen in the Saudi province of Jizan. He was the 17th Saudi soldier to die in the conflict.

Last week Saudi Arabia announced the end of a five-week aerial campaign, undertaken by a bloc of Arab countries, targeting Houthi positions within Yemen.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/05/01/Yemeni-conflict-spills-into-Saudi-Arabia/5491430495740/?spt=sec&or=tn

[malthaussen]

1. Too bad it won't cause the Sauds any pain.

As always, the people will pay while the rulers party. And make sad mouth-noises.

-- Mal

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Well, whaddya know? Start bombing people and they fight back.

[Fred Sanders]

3. Might also be AQ or even ISIS or ISIL. Everyone hates the House of Saud. Almost everyone.

The Houthis took over the capital city of Yemen in September and tried to negotiate a new government, rather than BE the government....but Saudi Arabia would not permit the terms for peace....so their lackey fled to Aden....was permitted to flee by the Houthis.

[leveymg]

8. AQ and ISIS are primarily funded by the Saudis and the GCC.

AQ and ISIS have always been splinter groups held together by only one thing:

[Demeter]

4. Ooops!!

Bye-bye, House of Saud. We aren't coming over to bomb your people into submission for you. You unleashed the hounds of revolution on your own selves....and you are going to get bit in the backside.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

5. Good ridence! And GWB gave the King a kiss! Seems worse that a slight bow to an asian world leader.

[Sunlei]

6. they killed them all. 'dozens'. Three Saudi troops were killed, as were "dozens" of Houthi rebels, S

Three Saudi troops were killed, as were "dozens" of Houthi rebels, Saudi officials said

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7. KSA Lacks Real Army to Invade Yemen: 10,000 Saudi Soldiers Fled Bases

The Global Research quoted European diplomatic sources as saying on Sunday that, almost 4,000 Saudi forces fled their border bases in anticipation of Riyadh’s order for launching a ground assault on Yemen.

“The intel gathered by the western intelligence agencies showed that the Saudi military forces have fled their bases, military centers and bordering checkpoints near Yemen in groups,” diplomatic sources were quoted as saying by Iraq’s Arabic-language Nahrain Net news website.

Other reports also said that over 10,000 soldiers from different Saudi military units have fled the army battalions and the National Guard, accordiing to the Global Research.

Experts believe that the Saudi army lacks strong morale to launch a ground invasion of Yemen and such an attack would be considered as a suicide for Saudi Arabia.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=208349&frid=23&seccatid=28&cid=23&fromval=1

[bemildred]

9. Russian U.N. envoy: West, Arab states pay 'lip service' on Yemen aid

(Reuters) - Russia criticized Western and Arab members of the U.N. Security Council on Friday for paying "lip service" to humanitarian needs in Yemen after the council was unable to agree on a Russian-drafted statement calling for pauses in fighting to allow delivery of aid.

In the latest sign of increasing tensions between Russia and the West, who are already at odds over Syria and Ukraine, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his three-paragraph statement on Yemen was met with a "procrastination reaction."

"I was prepared to drop a reference to (a call for) an immediate ceasefire, just at the very least they need to have periodic humanitarian pauses to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian supplies, they couldn't even agree to that," Churkin said after closed-door consultations on Yemen.

"If you cannot agree to a motherhood and apple pie statement what can you agree on," he said. "They pay lip service, they say 'things are very bad, but what can we do about it'."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/01/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN0NM4I920150501