DOHA
A spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition said Wednesday that efforts were underway to create a new military command in Yemen to reassemble the army as part of an ongoing campaign against the Shiite Houthi militant group.
"When the Houthi militias staged a coup against legitimacy in Yemen, they were determined to dissolve the Yemeni army," Ahmed al-Asiri tol a press briefing in Saudi capital Riyadh.
"We are searching now for a pro-legitimacy leadership on the ground to reorganize the Yemeni army," he added.
The spokesman appealed to army forces in Yemen to support the country's legitimate leadership and shy away from dealing with Houthi militias.
Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they have since sought to extend their influence to other parts of the fractious country.
For the past week, Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies have been pounding Houthi positions across Yemen.
Riyadh Arabia says the campaign is in response to appeals by embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to "save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias."
Some Gulf States accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency in Yemen.
