Saudi calls end to Yemen bombing operations

Saudi Arabia announced an end to Operation Decisive Storm, its coalition bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, on Tuesday saying it had "achieved its goals".

In a statement on Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television, the Saudi defence ministry said it was now starting "Operation Restoration of Hope". No details were provided.

The defence ministry statement said that the three-week air campaign in the south of the Arabian peninsula had removed any threat to the kingdom and had destroyed missiles operated by the Houthis and militias loyal to their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The announcement came hours after King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud mobilised the country's national guard to take part in the campaign against Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The national guard chief, Muteb bin Abdullah, said his forces were on high alert and were "honoured to answer the call to join their brothers and colleagues in other military bodies".

Riyadh is boosting domestic security measures amid fears of domestic blowback from the campaign.

Riyadh has also been taking part in the US-led coalition against Sunni jihadi extremists in Iraq. Members of the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant, known as Isis, breached the country's northern border with Iraq earlier this year.

There was no immediate indication that the call-up signalled an imminent ground invasion of Yemen, an option that has been left on the table by the Saudi government, but which could lead the country into a potentially dangerous military intervention that could further inflame regional tensions.

The Saudi-led bombing campaign has put the Houthis, who had been sweeping through the country, on the back foot but the offensive has yet to bring the rebels to the negotiating table.

The UN has called for a ceasefire as mounting civilian casualties and widespread damage have precipitated a humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest country. UN secretary-general Ban-Ki Moon has described Yemen as being "in flames". Iran, which the Gulf states accuse of interfering in several Arab states including Yemen, has also been pushing for an end to hostilities. <

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But Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies had called on the Houthis to withdraw from territory they have seized - including the capital, which they took last September - before any talks begin.

The Saudi-led coalition says army units once loyal to Mr Saleh and the Houthis are defecting and joining forces loyal to the Mr Hadi.

Analysts say the mobilisation of the National Guard, which has underpinned the rule of the al-Saud family was probably intended to bolster the kingdom's ability to deal with domestic security threats.

Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based geopolitical analyst, said the national guard - which he described as a tribal army with its own air capability - would help beef up the kingdom's internal security alongside existing measures.

"The entire country is becoming militarised due to security procedures in the face of possible attacks by Houthi and al-Qaeda associates," he said.

Saudi clerics are also calling for compulsory military service and the duty to support the country during times of regional crisis, he added.

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