Saudi aircraft airdropped weapons to militants in Yemen

The Yemeni military officials say Saudi aircraft have recently dropped weapons to militants in the southern city of Ta’izz.
The military confirmed on Wednesday that the planes airdropped weapons on areas where members of the Salafist Islah party are based, namely the Masbah and Ajenat neighborhoods. The operation was carried out in two phases on April 23.

Armed Yemenis inspect a box attached to a parachute airdropped by Saudi warplanes in Aden on April 3, 2015. © AFP
The jets airdropped a number of wooden boxes containing various firearms, rockets, sniper rifles and sophisticated communication instruments, the Yemeni military officials added.
Saudi warplanes had also dropped weapons to terrorists in the southern port city of Aden in early April. The reports, citing unnamed local military officials, said the terrorists had gained access to the munitions, noting that sophisticated communication equipment and advanced combat medical kits were also among the items airdropped.

An armed man inspects a box attached to a parachute airdropped by Saudi warplanes at the special forces camp in the Tawahi district of Aden, southern Yemen, April 3, 2015. © AFP

The UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo against Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement.
Saudi Arabia launched its airstrikes against Yemen on March 26, without a United Nations mandate, in a bid to undermine the Houthis and to restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.
The regime’s warplanes have repeatedly targeted residential areas in a number of cities including Aden and Ta’izz, as well as the capital, Sana’a.
On April 21, Riyadh announced the end of the first phase of its unlawful military operation, which has claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 people so far, but airstrikes have continued with Saudi bombers targeting different areas across the country in a new phase.
According to Yemen’s Health Ministry, the month-long Saudi aggression has killed nearly 150 children and around 100 women.