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FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 • 7 Jumada II 1436 • Volume 20 Number 6382 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Air strikes weaken Houthis Rebel military bases pounded • Raids to continue: Saudi • Yemen’s unity and stability vital, says Al Attiyah DOHA: Saudi Arabia-led forces Attiyah said the go-ahead for continued air strikes on Houthi Operation Storm Resolve was Arab FMs agree positions in Yemen for a sec- given after the Houthis rejected ond day yesterday, with Riyadh all solutions tabled by the GCC on unified claiming massive destruction of states to save Yemen’s unity and the rebels’ military power in the the stability of the entire region. previous night’s air attacks. The operation was carried military force Saudi jet fighters dominated out at the request of Yemen’s CAIRO: Arab foreign minis- Yemen’s air space in the first legitimate President Abdrabuh ters meeting in Egypt agreed night’s strikes and within 15 min- Mansur Hadi, said Dr Al Attiyah a draft resolution yesterday to utes attacked several air bases at the preparatory meeting of form a unified military force, in and destroyed the rebels’ planes, 26th Arab Summit in Sharm a move aimed to counter grow- ballistic missile, telecommunica- El-Sheikh in Egypt. ing regional security threats. tions and early warning systems. Qatar News Agency reported “The Arab ... ministers agreed Houthi military command cen- that Dr Al Attiyah called on all on adopting an important princi- tres were also destroyed during parties and political forces to con- ple, which is forming the unified the maiden air raids, Saudi wire sider Yemen’s interests and jointly Arab military force,” Arab League agency reported yesterday. work to complete the political Secretary-General Nabil El Arabi Also targeted and destroyed process. “We all have to line up for told reporters after the meeting were fuel storage tanks. “We were Yemen’s legitimacy and reject the Sharm El-Sheikh. able to achieve our aim within 15 policy of fait accompli to preserve “The task of the force will be minutes of the strikes,” said Saudi the unity, security and stability rapid military intervention to military spokesman Brigadier of the country. Qatar will spare deal with security threats to Arab Ahmed Assiri. no effort to achieve that,” he said. nations.” The strikes, titled Operation He said the preparatory meet- The draft resolution will be Storm Resolve, will continue ing was held under challenging referred to Arab leaders during unless “our aim is fully achieved”, regional and global situation. their March 28-29 summit in declared Assiri, according to the Arab nations are facing seri- Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah attends the meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Egypt. The idea was floated by news agency. “Currently, there ous political, economic and secu- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Cairo yesterday ahead of the Arab Summit in Sharm El Sheikh. are no plans for ground operation. rity challenges “which calls us Al Sisi. REUTERS “Saudi forces and the forces of our for joint action to address the allies — our friendly countries (a situation and threats with a new reference to Arab countries) and vision that is in consonance with our sister countries (a reference changes taking place around us.” to GCC) — are ready to respond Threats to Yemen’s unity Attacks to impact region, world: Report to any kind of aggression.” and stability have serious con- In yesterday’s attacks, Houthi sequences for the Arab region. DOHA: The military strikes countries are participating in the adhere to the legitimacy of the actors in the international com- positions were pounded by Saudi- It also threatens international launched by Saudi Arabia in Saudi-led coalition indicates that leader of Yemen and their refusal munity by this operation. First, led strikes to prevent their peace and security. We reaffirm collaboration with nine coun- Iran’s policies are rejected by a to consider any peaceful solutions there is very little tolerance to advance. Al Tareq Military Base our firm position by providing tries against the Houthis in significant number of countries to the crisis.” Iran’s expansion and influence in near Taez was also bombed. Taez all forms of support to maintain Yemen yesterday have serious in the region,” said the article on Oman has declined to partici- the region. Second, Iran will not is the third largest city of Yemen the unity, stability and security implications for the region and the centre website. pate in the coalition for domestic be allowed to meddle in the affairs after Sana’a and Aden. Also tar- of Yemen,” said Dr Al Attiyah, the world, says an analysis by Al Operation Decisive Storm and foreign reasons: Oman bor- of more countries in the Arab geted was the Houthi stronghold adding rejection of political legiti- Jazeera Centre for Studies. (‘Asifet Al Hazm) was Saudi’s ders Yemen and shares mutual world. Third, the constant desta- area of Al Malahiz in Sada near macy, national dialogue and state “While it is too early in the legitimate and logical response interests with Iran. It has always bilisation of Iran and its proxies the Saudi border. It is a main base institutions in Yemen are unac- operation to fully comprehend to block Iranian expansion in played the intermediary role to many countries in the Middle of the rebels, Sada civil airport and ceptable and not justifiable. the implications, the reality is the Gulf and prevent a humani- between Iran and the rest of the East, will be met with unwavering several key warehouses belong- The White House announced that Operation Storm Resolve tarian disaster in the kingdom’s countries in the region, thus it force and strong resolve. Finally, ing to the Houthis. The Saudi-led President Barack Obama’s will certainly impact not only backyard. prefers to remain neutral and the Saudi-led operation could con- operation has gained support of the approval to provide logistical and the actors involved, but also the “Therefore, this was not a war influence the behaviour of key vince Iran to change its aggressive international community, including intelligence support to Operation global and regional balance of of choice for the Saudi-led coali- players from outside, said the behaviour and reconsider its cur- the US, the UK and Arab states. Storm Resolve. Continued on page 2 power, with new alliances likely tion, but rather a war of neces- article. rent approach in Syria, Lebanon Meanwhile, Foreign Minister See also page 5 not only in the region but also sity after all diplomatic attempts The Saudi-led coalition is send- and Iraq. Continued on page 2 H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al THE PENINSULA internationally. The fact that 10 failed to convince the Houthis to ing messages to Iran and other THE PENINSULA New York City blaze German co-pilot Xavi ‘set for Al Sadd stint’ ‘deliberately’ BARCELONA: Veteran mid- fielder Xavi (pictured) of Barcelona is set to move to crashed plane Qatar Stars League (QSL) giants Al Sadd, according to MARIGNANE: The co-pilot of reports. the doomed Germanwings flight Xavi, 35, is likely to be unveiled appears to have “deliberately” as an Al Sadd player next week crashed the plane after locking for a fee of £22m, reports said, his captain out of the cockpit, adding the seasoned Barcelona French officials said yesterday, campaigner will sign a three-year in revelations that sparked glo- deal. bal shock. The Barcelona captain will also In a chilling account of the final begin coaching the generation of minutes of Germanwings Flight players Qatar hope will repre- 4U 9525, lead prosecutor Brice sent them at 2022 FIFA World Robin said 28-year-old German Cup by taking a position at Aspire includes an optional extra year, Andreas Lubitz initiated the Academy, said a report on www. according to reports. plane’s descent while alone at the dailymail.com The former Spanish player controls. The 35-year-old was also sought is understood to have made his Lubitz appeared to “show a by Manchester City-owned MLS decision after taking advice from desire to want to destroy” the franchise New York City. another former Spain captain plane, Robin told reporters after Xavi’s £7.5m-a-year deal Raul. THE PENINSULA Flames rise from a residential apartment building after it collapsed in East Village neighbourhood of New York his team analysed the Airbus’ City yesterday. At least 12 people were injured, four of them critically. cockpit flight recorder. However, Lubitz is not believed to be part of a terrorist plot, officials said. In an initial reaction, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the findings added an “abso- QTA warns hotels against increasing prices lutely unimaginable dimension” to the tragedy in which 150 peo- DOHA: Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) the erring facilities. tourism and attract families during week- A total of 145,000 tourists visited Qatar ple were killed, mostly Germans has issued a stern warning to hotels in “This illegal price increase has given ends and holidays,” it added. from March 10 to 23, which shows a sig- and Spanish. Spanish Prime the country against attempts to increase a negative reputation about the tourism QTA said it had sent a circular to all nificant decline compared to last year — Minister Mariano Rajoy said he prices exorbitantly cashing in on the sector in Qatar and the national economy, hotels asking them to comply with the 245,000 visitors in March — according to was “deeply shaken” by the news increased influx of tourists.