Pakistan turns down Saudi request for military role in Yemen

Pakistan's parliament has rebuffed a Saudi request for military participation in its offensive against Yemeni rebels, undermining the coalition's ability to mount an effective ground campaign and delivering a blow to the Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

The parliament unanimously passed a resolution affirming its neutrality in the Yemeni conflict, but expressed "unequivocal" support for Saudi Arabia and pledged to defend the kingdom in case of any violation of its territorial integrity or threat to the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina.

"There is a message to the Houthis too," said a senior Pakistani official. "If they go across the border in to Saudi Arabia, we will certainly be there in support of the Saudis," he said.

Saudi Arabia had requested troops, ships and aircraft support for "Operation Decisive Storm" that aims to restore the Yemeni president, Abd-Rabbu Hadi, who has fled the country in the face of rapid advances from the Houthis and their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Limiting Pakistani involvement to a defensive capacity will weaken any attempt by the Sunni Saudi-led coalition to launch a ground offensive against the Zaydi Shia Houthi movement.

Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, United Arab Emirates foreign minister, this week said the coalition was considering a ground campaign to achieve its objectives of restoring "legitimacy".

Analysts say the coalition, which may try to secure the cities of Sana'a and Aden in a ground offensive, was keen to secure the services of Pakistan's battle-hardened army, which has extensive experience fighting Islamist extremists in mountainous terrain similar to Yemen's.

The Saudis charge that the Houthis, who they say are armed by Iran, have "kidnapped" the country.

Iran's most senior leaders on Thursday launched broadsides against Saudi Arabia, accusing their longtime regional rival of launching a genocide against Yemen and comparing its tactics to their common enemy, Israel.

<

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

Saudi Arabia has been striking targets in Yemen for the past two weeks as the kingdom battles the Houthi rebel movement that has extended its reach from Sana'a, the capital, to Aden.

Coalition air strikes rained down overnight on the port city, where Houthi-allied forces have been fighting troops and tribes loyal to Mr Hadi.

The World Health Organisation has said more than 560 people, including dozens of children, have been killed in the campaign. Unicef says 100,000 people have been displaced since the nightly air strikes began.

With agencies warning of humanitarian catastrophe, a Red Cross ship has reached Aden, but remains stranded because of fighting there, the coalition said.

The first airlifts from Unicef and the Red Cross carrying medical supplies and water reached Sana'a on Friday.

"The humanitarian situation is worsening all the time, with increasingly limited access to water, basic sanitation and critical health services," said Unicef's Yemen representative, Julien Harneis, in a statement.

The Houthis and observers say many civilians, including children, have been killed.

A Saudi spokesman on Thursday said the campaign was hitting military targets, adding that the Houthis were trying to "garner media support by making it appear the coalition is targeting civilians".

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation