Why Saudi airstrikes are pounding Yemen for a fifth day, explained by the BBC

Saudi-led airstrikes pound Yemen for a fifth day

(Image credit: BBC/YouTube)

last updated 30 March 2015

Warplanes bombed Yemen and its capital, Sanaa, Sunday night and Monday, extending the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes on the Houthi rebels and their allies for a fifth day. "It was a night from hell," a Yemeni diplomat told Reuters, explaining the bombing in and around Sanaa, which sent residents fleeing to outlying villages.

The bombing hasn't stopped the Houthis and allied loyalists of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh from advancing on Aden, the southern port designated de facto capital by Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. In the BBC News video below, Al Hayat reporter Baria Alamuddin explains the geopolitics and local politics of Saudi Arabia's military incursion into its neighboring country. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.