Saudi-led coalition says UN vote "victory" for Yemenis

Riyadh (AFP) - A Saudi-led coalition praised a UN arms embargo imposed Tuesday on the Yemeni Shiite rebels it has been bombing for the past three weeks, calling it a "victory for the Yemen people."

The UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the rebels and also demanded they relinquish territory seized in a sweeping offensive that forced UN-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee.

Spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told reporters the United Nations "sees the dangers in Yemen" and its action is a complement to what the coalition is doing militarily.

"The United Nations vote today was a victory for the Yemen citizens before anyone else," he said.

The Security Council resolution was the first formal action by the body since the start of air strikes on March 26.

The coalition began its campaign after Riyadh feared the rebels would take over all of Yemen and move it into the orbit of Shiite Iran, Sunni Saudi Arabia's regional rival.

But some analysts have raised questions about the effectiveness of the military campaign.

"My personal opinion is they can bomb the Huthis for 100 years. The Huthis will not back down," a diplomat said earlier. "You cannot win from the air alone."

Assiri said, however, that the bombing "has achieved most of the goals that we have designed from the beginning" but that a ground operation remains an option.