Saudi Arabian Ambassador to US Announces Airstrikes Against Houthi Rebels in Yemen

Scott Rothstein/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir said on Wednesday that his nation had begun airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“The use of force is always the last resort and it is with great reluctance that we took this step,” al-Jubeir said. “We will do whatever it takes in order to protect villages and the government of Yemen from falling and from facing any dangers from outside militia.”

The Saudi ambassador also told reporters that a coalition of more than 10 nations has agreed to participate in operations meant “to prevent Yemen from falling at the hands of the Houthis.”

“Rather than engage in peaceful dialogue and in a peaceful transition to a stable and democratic Yemen they have always chosen the path of violence,” al-Jubeir said of the Houthis.

Earlier in the day, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki confirmed that Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi left his residence on Wednesday. She did not have any further information on where Hadi had gone to. Houthi rebels were believed to have been advancing on the city of Aden, where Hadi was believed to have been.

A statement from National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Wednesday reiterated the U.S.’s condemnation of the “ongoing military actions taken by the Houthis against the elected government of Yemen. Those actions, Meehan says, “have caused widespread instability and chaos that threaten the safety and well-being of all Yemeni citizens.”

The statement also noted that President Obama authorized logistical and intelligence support to the coalition operations in Yemen, but has not approved any direct military action.

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