Saudi Arabian forces dropped leaflets Thursday for residents in Yemen’s Saada province, telling them to leave before evening — a possible precursor to intensified military activity in the already flashpoint region.
According to locals and two Houthi officials, the leaflets warn that the Saudis will consider Saada an enemy military zone beginning at 7 p.m. (noon ET) Friday.
Thousands of families evacuated Saada province — which is northern Yemen, close to the Saudi border — throughout Friday.
And the deadline didn’t entirely stop the Saudi-led coalition that’s been launching airstrikes against the Houthis, the Shiite minority rebel group that ousted Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi earlier this year that has taken over the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the Arab nation.
According to Houthi officials and witnesses, dozens of airstrikes Friday morning hit several Houthi strongholds including Razeh and Marran. The latter locale, Marran, is the home of the late Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the founder of the Houthi movement.
The action comes a day after Saudi Arabia proposed a five-day ceasefire for the war-torn country so that humanitarian aid could be distributed.
The nation of more than 27 million people, to Saudi Arabia’s south, has been racked by war for months. That violence ratcheted up significantly with the March start of Saudi-led strikes against the Houthis and in support of Hadi, who is now outside Yemen but claims he is still its legitimate President.
Houthi leadership will meet and discuss the Saudi ceasefire proposal, two senior Houthi officials told CNN.
Even if the Houthis accepted the deal, several days would need to pass before the ceasefire could start, because aid groups need time to prepare to take advantage of the opportunity.
Between March 26 and May 3, at least 646 civilians were killed and more than 1,300 were wounded, the United Nations says.