Saudi Airstrikes Target Houthi Forces In Yemen, Despite Talks Of Peace

Despite Saudi Arabia's announcement earlier this week that a coalition would wind down the nearly month-old military campaign it has been waging in Yemen, warplanes have been hitting areas under Houthi control Thursday. It's now very unclear when peace talks that were mentioned earlier this week might occur.

From Riyadh, NPR's Leila Fadel reports for our Newscast unit:

"The Saudis had said that although strikes were ending, they would use force against Houthi movements inside the poor Gulf country.

"Aid workers say little has changed since Saudi Arabia announced the start of a new, supposedly more humanitarian-focused operation. Food is running out, electricity is scarce, hospitals are overwhelmed and street fighting continues in places like the port city of Aden between rival factions.

"The Saudis say the goal now is to get to UN-facilitated talks — but only if the Houthi rebels lay down their weapons. The Houthis, which Saudi and the U.S. accuse of being an Iranian proxy, say they also want talks but only if Saudi Arabia stops bombing Yemen."