same crisis follow in yemen. a war with no end in sight, the rise of dangerous terror groups, a dire humanitarian crisis, and iran's increased power grab in the region. and with that, i will go to mr. connolly for perhaps one minute because when mr. deutsche comes he'll give his five minutes. mr. connolly is recognized. >> thank you, madam chairman, thank you for having the hearing. in listening to the resuscitation just now of what happened in yemen and what happened in syria, one would, i guess, iner if or one is meant to iner if that it's all the problem and result of policies pursued or not pursued by president obama and his administration. nothing could be further from the truth. the inherent instability in yemen is not new. and it certainly is not unique to the administration currently in power. yemen is inherently unstable. it has multiple militia forces and jihadist forces at work. towns have been taken and retain and transferred. terrorism and brutality have occurred. and we may very well, there are our

of yemen. this is the group of osama bin laden's followers. just east of their is a mahra state. it is from this state here that we're talking about, which the soviets had eyes on at one time and gave some concern to the united states. this is a reason why it was not in the coalition against the houthi because were talking to a neighbor state here. oman's policy will be driven by its neighbor ms. allows factor is the yemenis outside. the numbers fluctuate upside down. you can say there are a million if you included united arab emirates with saudi arabia and elsewhere. yemenis are all over the world and probably on the moon as some say. they were the first arabs to work and respond to him before, $5 a day for honest days work. [inaudible] this is just to paint the brush stroke of the context you. now we will go to jeremy sharp was with the congressional research service. he is the person who does the research, writing analytical written worked for the members of the united states congress. their

same crisis follow in yemen. a war with no end in sight the rise of dangerous terror groups, a dire humanitarian crisis and iran's increased power grab in the region. and with that i will go to mr. connolly for perhaps one minute because when mr. deutsche comes he'll give his five minutes. mr. connolly is recognized. >> thank you madam chairman, thank you for having the hearing. in listening to the resuscitation just now of what happened in yemen and what happened in syria one would, i guess, iner if or one is meant to iner if that it's all the problem and result of policies pursued or not pursued by president obama and his administration. nothing could be further from the truth. the inherent instability in yemen is not new. and it certainly is not unique to the administration currently in power. yemen is inherently unstable. it has multiple militia forces and jihadist forces at work. towns have been taken and retain and transferred. terrorism and brutality have occurred. and we may very well, there are our movem

in the case of north yemen and south yemen, with the unity in 1990, south yemen played a hard hand and ended up with 50% of the power. 50% of the cabinet posts. and the other 50% the deputy ministers. when the percentage of the population was only 1/7, 1/15. you can see why the south wanted to the retain its powers or regain its powers, but you can also see the animus of the north, many of whom thought the south took too much got too much, didn't deserve as much. jeremy sharp on the questions of the united states' relationship with yemen, what are all the implications of this? is this likely to result in an increase, depth and breadth of anti-americanism? hatred towards the united states the longer that this conflict continues? >> sorry. i feel like i should give my opening remarks all over again because i was sitting down and not at the podium. look, one side of me is -- thinks that on any given day even when there's not a major international operation in yemen, it's never a good situation, as my panelists described. this is a country with incredibly low socioeconomic indicators in te

began seizing control of yemen. the actions were troubling because of the hoothie's power an immediate dissolve of the yemeni parliament. besides the complete disregard for a democratic principles, the hoothies have close ties to iran which is seeking to expand the influence in the middle east. on march 26th saudi arabia and more than 10 arab partners began arab strikes to weaken the strong hold and reinstate president hadi to the presidency. while i'm supportive of arab solidarity and intervention here, i'm deeply concerned about the possibility of a large humanitarian crisis in yemen and look forward to delving into these issues this afternoon. i yield back. >> thank you. miss frankel of florida. >> thank you madam chair. mr. ambassador thank you for being here. >> well, we've heard some of our -- my colleagues here describe iran's support for the hoothie forces as another iranian takeover in the region. and so i'm going to be -- i'm interested in your assessment of that. given that they've been seeking recourse f

operations in yemen. we've talked about publicly in our own discourse here in washington where mistakes have been made. civilians have been killed. that obviously engenders a great deal of discord directed against the united states. certainly, like my panelists said if there were more air strikes that hit dairy factories or weapons depots in civilian areas, i mean that's also going to sow a lot of discord. in terms of u.s. operations, maybe not necessarily saudi, you're getting into sort of broader questions about how we conduct counterterrorism operations, not just in yemen but in pakistan and afghanistan and iraq and syria. these are questions that are unresolved and sort of open for big debate. how do we protect our own homeland security without creating new breeds and generations of terrorists. and it's being tested in yemen and it is going to be tested elsewhere. i don't have the answer to that debate but it is worth revisiting certainly. >> colonel deroche how long will the logistics the operational

so our objectives in yemen are simple, protect the government of yemen and protect the people of yemen from a takeover by a radical group allied with iran and hezbollah. and we had a situation where a and we had a situation where a militia that is in control of ballistic missiles and was now in control of an air force. i don't believe there was a situation in history a armed militia had an air force and this is something that cannot be tolerated. we tried to reason with them and tried to reach agreements with them or broker agreements with them that as i mentioned earlier, it all came to not and we ended up having to resort to force in response to the request by the legitimate government of yemen. the operations are ongoing. we have targeted the air force. we have targeted air bases. we have targeted ballistic missiles and targeted heavy weapons depots and have tried our best to minimize collateral damage. there have been malicious charges made the saudi air force responded to a refugee camp and turned out not to be the case. the site was not on our target list nor were operations cond

in yemen. tuesday they announced air strikes were stopping but would attack houthi troop movements if they thought they were a threat. >> italy's prime minister has called the european union to work together to stop migrant trafficking. in the past week hundreds have died on their journey across the mediterranean >>> the u.n. says -- >>> there is no shortage of migrants willing to make the journey. >>> this week's events have confirmed the mediterranean is the most dangerous border in the world. so far this year more than 1,700 migrants have died. amany as 800 on the boat that capsized off libya on sunday. the figures have surged 30 times compared to last year when the death toll over the same period was 92. more than 36,000 migranted have reached italy safely this year but four in every 100 die trying. if the trend continues, the death toll could reach 30,000 by the end of the year. these are some of the routes being used by smuggers into western europe. across the yarn mediterranean and black

policy goals for yemen? >> it's something that we're looking at, and i think that we'll adjust. obviously our hope would be that if we can get the situation stabilized and get the political process going again that we would be able to return and that we would be able to continue implementing the kinds of programs that we were trying to achieve that are aimed at economic growth and development as well as supporting democratic governance and the opportunity to try to build solid political foundations for the society. at this particular moment we can't do that. but it's hard to predict where we might be in six months or nine months from now. >> thank you. and mr. ambassador, my final question is the united nations reports that yemen relies on imports for 90% of its staple food. and we can surmise that as a result of the conflict that there will be a disruption in that and obviously the world food program reports that 10 million people, 42.5% of the population, were already unable to meet their basic food needs.

it shows a concern, a care about yemen yemen. and the yemeni people. and yemen/u.s. relations and yemen's plight humanitarian geopolitical, geo strategic geoeconomic and otherwise. all the speakers kept within their 10 minutes and we had more than 40 questions. and i think we covered somewhat of the water front. but especially, we are grateful to our speakers and to his excellency ambassador adel al-jubeir. thank you all. [ applause ] >>> last week itv hosted the first leaders debate of the 2015 u.k. general election campaign, featuring off primary leaders and opposition leader. clashed on questions of the taxation immigration, education and changes to the national health service. itv's julie etchingham moderated. the u.k. general election will be held on may 7th. >> salford greater manchester. a city proud of its heritage. and tonight the setting for a remarkable political debate in the closest general election in decades. seven party leaders go face to face live in the itv leaders debate. [ applause ] >> good evening. i'm julie etchingham. here are seven party lead

the policy goals for yemen? >> it's something that we're looking at. i think that we will adjust. obviously, our hope would be that if we can get the situation stabilized and get the political process going again, that we would be able to return and we would be able to continue implementing the kinds of programs that we were trying to achieve, that are aimed at economic growth and development, as well as supporting democratic governance and the opportunity to try to build solid political foundations for this society. at this particular moment we can't do that, but it's hard to predict where we might be in six months or nine months from now. >> thank you. mr. amambassador the united nations reports that yemen relies on import for 90% of its staple food. we can surmise as a result of the conflict there will be a disruption in that. obviously, the world food program reports that 10 million people, 42.5% of the population, were already unable to meet their basic food needs. so would you speak a little bit about what

having spent three years in yemen, i can say that i was always optimistic that given an opportunity yemen could actually develop and provide for its people economically. unfortunately, the political situation and security situation have undermind their ability and our ability to really build that kind of a future. >> well, i appreciate your service there. i know it must be very distressing to you to see the current conditions. but your service means a lot to the american people. thank you. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. wilson. thank you to your family for valuable contribution of keeping our homeland safe, thank you. >> thank you madam chairman. thank you, mr. ambassador. first i'd like to ask you as much as you can share in open setting, will you speak to how the current current conflict has impacted our counter terrorism efforts within yemen? you mentioned in your opening remarks that aqap is taking advantage of this opportunity and my question is do we have in place alternative counter terrorism plan that will continue to disrupt aqap and isis operations what's the relationship of th

personnel operating in yemen left because of a deteriorating security situation in yemen, particularly in the south. basically what was happening in the past was army officers -- yemeni army officers coordinating with the americans to pinpoint the target and then launch those attacks. now most of the other u.s. personnel operating in yemen left after the air base was captured by houthi -- before houthi fighters took over the air base in the port city of aden but it seems like that the operations against al-qaeda continue gathering intelligence about the whereabouts and the movements of those operatives continued. it could be another scenario that the saudis who are launching attacks against houthi fighterers still active in sharing some intelligence with the americans and coordinating those attacks. >> all right. hashem thank you very much. >>> we will have much more on the conflict in yemen later in the program when the saudi-lead coalition holds its daily briefing. ♪ >>> now the u.s. president barack obama has promised an extra $200 million worth of humanitarian aid to iraq. the an

capital and taking a look at the chaos and yemen. -- the chaos in yemen. [indiscernible] -- in one area north of the capital, where much of the countries wealthiest live coming down to the south. what used to be the border between the north and the south -- would be the second-largest city in the north. [indiscernible] this used to be known as the western protectorate. and it is into this area that they have advanced in the last two weeks. and they are posing a talent and a threat. then there is aiden itself. [indiscernible] and these were the -- of queen victoria's. up until the end of the 1950's, believe it or not, was the world's fifth-largest port in terms of ships. there was more ships than you had -- [indiscernible] up until and into the 1960's. [indiscernible] so too has the modern gives of the suez canal. it remain closed until 1975. [indiscernible] when aiden lurched, if you will, to the left. only americans allowed to live and work then, but there has been no other -- government in the middle east, in the islamic world, like there was -- [indisce

again, it's those subversive of yemen and should continue to defend yemen. those from among them who have fallen we call to accept this and those are a speed recovery and command of the coalition are fully aware of their respective duties and possibilities to the military operations carried out in yemen. yet mainly steering away from civilians and as you are fully aware that the houthi malitias are under the brunt of continued assault from our campaign are seeking to shift the battleground inside the cities and villages making the task more difficult yet, we cannot allow them to achieve this goal very positive outcomes have been achieved over the past 84 hours. based on in the coalition forces are fully aware of their responsibility and international alliance being informed on the basis of a nobel goal and salvage the yemen people in response to their legitimate authority and the pinpointed targets and we are close contact with the nobel, honest men of the yemen armed forces and popular resistance on the ground in order to ensure that the targets hit are mil

-- in the yemen territory. and inside the city we continue to protect the civilian to prevent this militias to sustain the operation. and in the growing part the saudi ground force and the coast guard will continue to protect the southern border of saudi arabia, and to prevent the militias to conduct any attack against the borders. in the military time action we will continue to have the maritime protection, to prevent any supply for the militias and to implement the resolution 2216 to make sure that no one supply the militias and help them to sustain their operation so the -- the committee that was designs or -- designed to receive all the evacuation and humanitarian aid and relieve the of ration will continue the direction through the numbers and the concern i show you in this slide and the will continue to perform their operation in a matter of hope for yemen wishing that yemen will become again stable and secure country for the region and for the yemen population thank you. >> is this mean that the houthis

the same country and they are yemen neighbors. so the dialog after these strikes, when they go the yemen parties go to riyahdh or other it will be international and from my point of view this is good for the yemen people because the state and saudis especially they know better than other states the situation in yemen, the complication in terms of the military social and political situation of the country. >> okay do you think there should be an arabic regional solution to this? and we know ali abdullah saleh the former president of yemen requested safe passage from the country and saudis seem to have said no but wouldn't it speed up any peace process if ali abdullah saleh actually left yemen? >> i think so. and it's not only that it's not only leaving the yemen and having a safe passage, before having that for him he must from my point of view and from the saudis and the arab's point of view he must do something inside the country, he must oust his own commanders in the army, his own divisions which are still loyal to him and must

yemen's southeast have taken control of one of yemen's most important ports. it's the country's only gas export terminal. >>> in aden more heavy fighting in the so-called popular resistance. 23 houthis have surrendered to the tribesmen. >>> and east of the capitol sana'a tribal fighters say they are managing to hold off the houthi advance. they say the houthis have superior weapons, but can be defeated. first let's go to our diplomatic editor james bayes who is at the united nations. he joins us from there now. jordan has put forth a draft resolution in order to put a stop to the fighting. talk us through that. >> reporter: this is a copy of the draft resolution. there have been two different resolutions that have been proposed to the u.n. security council. the first came from russia and the second from the gulf cooperation council, what is being proposed by jordan is mainly based on the gcc draft resolution. prominently involved in the military fight lead by saudi arabia and the bombing that has been taking place in yemen in the last couple of weeks. the reso

yemen now is in a very serious situation. yemen is in a state of civil war. there is a lot of fighting going on in the south. there is a humanitarian situation isolated by all this fighting going on. there is shortage of food. shortage of water more than 120,000 displaced people in yemen. you know, what is the situation to where it is now is really the obstruction that impeded the political process and alert to the violence and the situation to become out of hand. >> let me put it to you in other terms. it may have been the way the whole thing has handled. there have been no suggestions that the inclusion deficit--your attempt to bring everybody in the suppose merely encouraged the houthis in view of what they could and couldn't do and brought about a conflict that could have been avoided. >> one thing that was distinct about the political transition in yemen was that it was an inclusive transition. it in 2011 yemenis made a deal to start the transition, a transition from ali abdullah saleheh rule to no, sir. that national dialogue agreed that they needed to

we are talking about eight yemens, if you will. think of yemen as louisiana. think of it in terms of a boot, this being the ankle, these being the heel. you have two factors in northern yemen that our ipods with one another to a degree that the commonality of interests. you have the northernmost part of yemen the base of the houtis, who were not a household name 10 years ago. they are a recognizable force now. southam that area, -- south of that area has been led by -- since the end of the yemen civil war revolution from september 22, 1962, through march 14, 1970. that brought saudi arabia brought to the -- and egypt that to the southern city. these divisions of shia and sunni are not as pronounced as they are in other places. they intermarry between the two. there is a commonality between the two. these are two in the north, and in one area of the north, east of the capital called where the country's mineral wealth is. coming down to the south, what used to be the border between the north and the south -- would be the second largest city in the north. the sou

>> well, it show there is an issue in yemen. the saudi-lead coalition says it is determined to undermine the capabilities of the houthi rebels, and that they can see that they are destroying their capabilities across the country. on the other hand the narrative of the houthis so far is despite the air strikes they are still there on the ground with their forces in the city of aden and taking over the province which is a sunni strong hold. that move comes as a huge surprise to people in the south, and to the -- and to the saudis themselves, because this is supposed to be a very safe secure area under the control of forces loyal to president hadi. it shows that the saudis will definitely have some issues in the future tackling the houthi presence in the southern part of the country. >> and the wider picture as well more comments coming out of iran the supreme leader calling saudis air campaign a crime and genocide and warning that the saudis will lose. i'm so sorry, hashem i have asked you a question we're not going to have time f

doctors are asking for support from abroad in yemen. this is a very delicate situation in yemen. and particularly in the capital. exacerbated by the fact that we still have fighting and airstrikes. >> thank you very much, indeed, for that. >> i want to take you back to syria where humanitarian groups say that conditions in yarmouk are beyond humane. >> they speak of incredible fear. these are some of the people that managed to get out of yarmouk. syrian national news agency aired these pictures showing the army and palestinian factions that helped get them to safety. >> in a matter of 30 minutes they could have executed all people you see in this school because isil called from the mosques. if we catch one of you working with them, or are the palestinian group fighting, or with the government, they'll cut our heads off. they have no mercy. >> for the first time video of isil has been posted online showing the inside of the palestinian refugee camp. they've been fighting palestinian groups and others here for the past six days. this camp has been besieged for more than two years b

yemen. >> we'll be talking with the course upon dent inside arabia in a moment. but first we have the latest on the operation in yemen. >> reporter: it controls the skies. the saudi led coalition has not deployed troops on the ground. it's relying on popular resistence groups loyal to president abd rabbuh mansur hadi. they have gained some ground in yemen's second biggest city aden and other areas in the south. >> we at the time the houthis we're tired of you. you will never be welcomed here. >> here on the western entrance in aden vehicles speed away. traveling in the option direction ambulances head towards the fighting but can't get very far. >> there are injured people over there, but the houthis are targeting our vehicle. they showed others, and we can't get to the injured. >> hospitals have been badly hit. some like this one have no electricity. there are reports weapons and reinforcements are being flown in to the houthis. the saudis say that this is one of the reasons why it's take s

army for all of yemen

inside yemen. so i would argue between the two, saudi arabia has the much bigger influence in the upper hand in yemen. amy: talk about the role right now saudi arabia, what exactly is happening in yemen on the ground, the conditions of people there. and a moment, we will be speaking with an arms control expert who will talk about the obama administration pouring more money into making more weapon sales than any administration since world war ii. the largest recipient of those -- of that military aid in weaponry is to saudi arabia. >> yes, record-breaking number of contracts i think i've been told to the saudis in the past two years. i don't know who they're using them against. yemen is the poorest air country so to have this huge alliance against yemen for allegedly trying to break the backs of the houthis, i think it belies it. now that the houthis have come to aden, which the airstrikes were allegedly trying to stop from happening. large alliances on the ground. they're not an occupying power com

for rebel fighters in yemen. this while negotiators resume talks on iran's nuclear program. iran wants immediate cessation of sanctions an idea the united states may be repeat may be closer to accepting. the obama administration is calling iran's judiciary absurd after they leveled espionage charges against an american journalist held there. last week the iraqi prime minister was here in washington while asking for more money and weapons to fight isis haider al abadi sided with iran saying the saudi-led coalition in yemen was pushing the region closer to a greater war. but that hasn't stopped the united states from taking a larger role in the arab coalition with nine u.s. warships now settled off the coast of yemen. here with me is our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. set the stage for what i call compartmentalization. negotiations in vienna over the nuclear deal while at the same time the potential for some sort of confrontation between the u.s. and iranian warships off the coast of yemen. >> w

the zaidis ruled north yemen for more than a thousand years and make up roughly a quarter of yemen's population. at the heart of the zaidi faith is the principle of rebellion against unjust rulers. following the attacks on the twin towers in september 2001, and the invasion of iraq hussein al-houthi developed a radical theory that combined zaidi revivalism with an anti-imperialist, anti-u.s. agenda. dhayf allah al-shami, a senior houthi, was my guide in sa'dah. >> al ahmad: hussein ahouthi believed 9/11 was an american and zionist conspiracy to occupy muslim lands. >> al ahmad: in 2004, hussein al-houthi and his men came under heavy attack by the yemeni army. they hid in a cave in the mountains of sa'dah. it's now become a shrine for his followers. >> al ahmad: according to the houthis, the yemeni army poured petrol into the cave, then set it on fire. many of al-houthi's family were killed. >> al ahmad: hussein al-houthi was allegedly captured by the army and later killed. he became a martyr whose ideas still resonate today with his followers. they compare his death to the martyrdom

he says saleh cannot be part of the solution. >> reporter: the plan yemen. now we are in the same boat. we should find the same end. >> reporter: even if a military victories appears eminent for hadi the political conflict within yemeni society remains. finding a solution to that will require consensus from all sides not victory by one. >>> there will be more on the conflict of yemen a little bit later in this program when the saudi-lead coalition holds its daily briefing. ♪ >>> there has been a big increase in government air strikes in syria in the last 36 hours. a human rights group say there have been more than 120 strikes in aleppo. the death toll as has emerged over the last four years of war. >> reporter: over 220,000 people killed in the past four years of fighting in syria, that staggering horrifying number being provided by the syrian observatory for human rights who say over 60,000 killed were civilian and over 11,000 killed were children. the syrian observatory for human rights also reporting that clashes have intensifyied especially in idlib pr

well, the yemen ambassador to the u.n. and spoke to us from new york a little earlier and began asking whether yemen could guaranty the saudi-led air strikes would stop if the houthis agreed to pause the fighting. >> stop the war against aiden, the killing and the butchering of the population in aiden and they should stop the operations against the people and should stop the operations against merit and shall pull out of the cities, return the arms that they took by force from the government institutions and go back to be part of the political spectrum of the country, form their own political party and they will be very welcome. >> reporter: so to be clear the houthis would have to do all of that including hand the weapons back before yemen would agree that saudi arabia should stop those air strikes? >> of course. of course. they should implement 2201 and 2216 and they are welcome because we want them to be part of the solution. we don't want them to be part of the problem. >> reporter: what should the u.n. do now after th

rebels inside yemen. iranian backed houthis is backed by the u.s. and saudi arabia. the commander of the iran navy said we don't let anyone give us warnings and threats. our senior correspondent nick paton walsh is monitoring the developments for us. >> reporter: john so much more at stake day by day in the waters around yemen and skies above it. the u.s. saying it will send aircraft carrier "uss theodore roosevelt roosevelt" and "uss normandy." iran is suspected to have nine ships in the area who may be carrying weapons that may be bound for yemen. does that mean the u.s. tries to block their path or certainly this is at least a show of force. it is of course in response to the united nations security council resolution imposing an arms blockade on the houthis in yemen. it could provide a mandate if the u.s. wants to stop the ships in its path. i think this is more about escalation of the rhetoric in the area. we are seeing a war now, the end of which is hard to define at this stage. civilians caught on

>> the people in yemen feel abandoned by the government that there's no control whatsoever in yemen. they are living in fear from the saudi arabia air strikes. you hear fighting all day long. the houthis forced people to evacuate their homes and put anti-aircraft systems on the rooftops. even though the saudi collisions say that the strikes are precise, there has been a lot of mistakes and a lot of civilians dying in the middle >>> talking about the fighting now, what two weeks ago we talked about the possibility of some sort of sit down around the table for political talks. how far away is a political solution and what will it take to get the very dispirit groups particularly the houthis and the abd-rabbu mansour hadi government to sit around a table and talk about solving the problem? >> political powers in yemen are deep rooted and complex. conflict is in the solution. if it continues, all we'll see is more civilians dying and yemen going into deeper - you know deeper poverty. more problematic situations. the only solution is to sit around a table and negotiate. the national dialo

yemen was never isolateed. we only decide to ask for help from our brothers after we got to such a dangerous state we hope to get something new and would under the leadership of saudi arabia who had a lead role in helping us navigate politics and the other nebraska states who are arabic and islamic. in an agreement to what yemen has signed on. in my name, and to the yemeni people in thanks and gratitude to our friends who have helped us and help supported our sovereignty and our legitimacy i am now--hey also helped to protect the yemeni interests with the strong resolve that has now started the second stage which is the renewed hope, and all the loyal forces who stood with the people and it's strife and also under the leadership of king salman, who helped support us and achieve our ambitions and from here we confirm that we shall apply all of the provisions under the seventh chapter of the security council 216, that has yemen appeal to the world united and has a just cause and this resolution handles as many op

the shifting alliances in yemen antonio are very fluid. each of these groups is out for its own interests. and what you see is highly parochial and highly personalized conflicts between different groups, really driving this civil war from the ground up, rather than the top down. and that's the kind of environment that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has been hoping for since the start of the arab spring in 2011. back then, they took over two whole provinces in southern yemen. if this war continues they're likely to try to extend their influence yet again. they've done it in the past successfully. they could do it again now. >> going back to what you said about it being too simplistic to talk about this as a sectarian war, so you don't believe this is really kind of a proxy war where you've got the iranians helping the houthis and the saudis and the other gulf cooperation council states helping the sunni president hadi and his allies? >> you know, antonio one of the things that happens when we're sitting here in washington or new york, is

it is there to help the people of yemen. the two countries are historic neighbors, and they influence each other in many ways. there is over a million yemenis living in saudi arabia and working there as well. on the other hand, saudi arabia also wants to respond to this emergency, this call by the united nations to give this amount of money and it is very difficult to tell to what extend extent this is going to help the yemenis in need. and how quickly. they need this aid today not tomorrow. millions have been affected by this war hundreds of thousands probably displaced and we have seen hundreds have left already the country. the situation there and the relief being talked about is easier said than done because the president obama is how to reach those people. the problem is how to put on the ground some structures that will help do that in view of the security across the country how is the united nations going to deal with this particularly that we also know that there is a lot of bureaucracy that has to be followed before

operating blindly in yemen. one of the organizations that has been most interested and capable of conducting strikes in the homeland has increased its control of territory. >> reporter: also standing to gain iran. houthi rebels who have u.s. ally government forces on the run are backed by tear ran. the u.s. is monitoring whether iran is sending arms to them. even in the midst of progress on sensitive nuclear negotiations. i'm told that aqap in yemen is communications sharing with al shabab in somalia as groups normally do. they have not carried out it to this point joint operations. that's considered a credible next step. that's two failed states right across from each other, yemen, somalia, with two growing tear irthreat er threats. both of them with as spir ragspirations to attack abroad. >>> now to the fate of thousands of refugee ss including more than 3,000 children. barbara starr is joining us. she has this story for us. this is more awful news. >> reporter: wolf another place on the ground where the u.s.

after 27ers iny iny men in yemen. the saudi force also still continue to target the movements of houthi fighters inside yemen. this was how a spokesman announced the end of the decisive campaign. today the goal of the campaign has been achieved and sovereignty has been protected. the yemeni citizen is no longer subject to dangerous of houthi militias and they've lost a large part of their capability capabilities. then the operation will begin with the government which has to rebuild yemen in a safe and security manner. >> the coalition would retain the rights to intervening yemen if necessary. >> we'll continue to target the houthis. we'll also continuing the support of the help with the evacuation of humanitarian support. there will be some military action when deemed necessary. >> coming up we'll have reaction from washington and the united states. mohammed we now have operation newell hope where does that go? >> i yes i think everybody should wait for tomorrow to see what happens in the next few hours of the mornin

yemen. the public committees in the south have been increasingly more successful as they have been receiving more arms from the coalition and they have been able to push back against the houthis. we are also beginning to -- and houthis military structure, we are seeing commanders defect, back to the military and this indicates a -- almost a beginning of what we hope is the collapse of the military units allied with the houthis. we are now moving towards a -- we also have reunited security council resolution that was passed yesterday that reaffirmed the importance of dealing with the crisis through a political process that uses the g.c.c. initiative, and the outcomes of the remaining dialog as the basis. and for yemen it plays against the president and their support. to reiterate the importance of helping yemen out of it's crisis so we are very satisfied with the resolution that was passed as you know 14-0 with russia abstaining, there was a victory for yemen and for the yemen people, and for

ambassador yemen is a quickly moving terrain. we would appreciate if you can keep the subcommittee abreast of developments. we don't have to have a formal hearing, we can have a meeting in one of the meeting rooms. thank you for being accessible. lots of moving parts. we would like to be abreast of every development. >> thank you. >> thank you, sir. your testimony was excellent. with that, the subcommittee is adjourned. >>> on the next washington journal, congressman jim mcdermott of washington, lead democrat on the ways and means subcommittee on health discusses repeal of medicare payment formula known as the dock fix, and challenges to the president's health care law. then congressman james renacci of ohio discusses bills on the house floor, including prospects for tax overhaul. after that, our spotlight on magazines features justin whirlen on his reporting of the shooting of a man in south carolina and the relationship between police departments and communities of color. washington journal is live every morning at 7:00 a.m. ea

certainly from yemen. and this is giving the extremist movements al quaida and isis, breathing space. it's allowing them access to areas of ungoverned space. and it's allowing them access to weapons. >> let me ask you this one quickly, i only want your assumption on this. could they be just simply joint military exercises or do they have something that happen on the ground. >> they are certainly preparing for a possibility of land forces. and you have to exercise before you actually intervene. >> thank you, thank you indeed, i am going to run through some of the points that have been made during the course of that press con can presence, houthis militias sporadic not really military ard cooing to the coalition spokesman, they have hit weapons stores we saw pictures of them destroying planes that were on the ground. no safe haven he said and you can get a great deal deal more on our website, that is al jazeera.com, the irhinian vows to end the air strikes it says more on that aljazeera.com. marching to the

the air campaign has not stopped the advance in yemen. rather the international red cross saying, of course, that this cargo plane of medical aid landed in the capital of sanaa. earlier a plane carrying medical staff also arrived. we have more. >> reporter: these are doctors from the international community of the red cross arriving in the southern yemeni city of aden. they were in the boat after the trip was approved by the saudi-led coalition. >> they could take care of those on board. more specifically for us as a surgical team we have this expertise to treat this very special type of trauma caused by high-speed bullets and bombs. >> reporter: the united nations chief is concerned about yemen's deteriorating security and humanitarian situation. >> ordinary yemeni families are struggling for the very basics. water, food fuel and medicines. hundreds of civilians have been killed. hospitals and schools are shutting down some of which are direct targets of the fighting. >> reporter: the conflict in yemen has made life difficult for million

an example of how dangerous the streets of yemen have become. this is the kind of violence the saudi-led coalition said it's targeting with air strikes. they blamele houthis and they are rallies of taking control of yemen by force and cracking down on anyone who opposes them. >> the houthis target buildings and people. they have managed to move to certain areas to take cover from the airstrikes. we are working in coordination with tribesmen and popular committees. >> the fiercest battles are taking place in the southern city of aden, they are forces loyal to pat adou rabbo mansour hadi battling houthis and their army, part of which remains with ali abdullah saleh the former president. as the fighting rages on, the humanitarian situation is worsening. aid agencies have found it impossible to reach those most in need. the saudis are doing their best to help the agency the red cross. >> we coordinated the arrival of a passenger plane to sanna. it landed and left safely. we are in the process of coordinating a second flight and finalizing the detail

we need to find a political solution in yemen. a comprehensive political solution lead to go an inclusive government. a true yemeni dialogue. through dialogue of pima wrong yemen and we agree we need to put an end to the fighting and to what is happening today in yemen. >> reporter: air strikes have now entered a third week. its same according to saudi army officers is to destroy military capabilities of the houthis and their allies. >> translator: army commanders and units loyal to former president saleh have told us they have decided to join the legitimate government. they are based in a province and the coalition welcomes their decision. >> reporter: the saudis are hoping for massive action within the army to isolate former president saleh who remains powerful in yemen. on the border crossing with saudi arabia, there are still people trying to escape. >> actually, the situation is getting worse. it's really the company advising us to leave immediately. >> reporter: international aid agencies are concerned about yemen's deterior

we need to find a political solution in yemen. a comprehensive political solution lead to go an inclusive government. through yemeni dialogue. through dialogue of pima wrong yemen and we agree that you need to put an end to fighting and to what is happening today in yemen. >> reporter: air strikes have now entered a third week. its ima cord to go saudi army officers is to destroy military capabilities of the houthis and their allies. >> translator: army commanders and units loyal to former president saleh have told us they have decided to join the legitimate government. they are based in a province and the coalition welcomes their decision. >> reporter: the saudis are hoping for massive action within the army to isolate former president saleh who remains powerful in yemen. on the border crossing with saudi arabia, there are still people trying to escape. >> actually the situation is getting worse. there is already the company advise to us leave immediately. >> reporter: international aid agencies are concerned about yemen's deteri

envoy to yemen, jamal has resigned. he had been overseeing the effort to reach a political deal between yemen's rival factions but they fell apart when the houthis staged their take over. and the former president of yemen, saleh has been trying to make an exit of his own he's asked for safe passage out of the country. forces loyal to saleh are accused of helping the houthi rebels and a spokesman for the saudi military has told al jazerra he has no role in yemen's future. >> we are addressing now stability situation for the yemen operation. we are addressing the legitimacy of the government. we are trying to prevent those militias to harm the operation and to threaten yemen. saleh and the militias they are not part of the. [ inaudible ] the plan is the yemen, now we are facing the same. they are in the same boat. they should find the same end. i think no one is thinking logically find that al saleh could be part of the future of yemen. ♪ ♪ >>> all right, we can talk to hakim now, who is the editor of the yemen post,

what are the consequences in all parts of yemen? as i said during the briefing now the coalition forces are working on the main target which is to safeguard in particular the city of aden and to protect the city and to -- not to allow the houthi militias to terrorize the people and the city. we target any movement on the roads, and also as i said the army forces that are supporting ali abdullah saleh, and the houthi forces are trying to [ inaudible ] the presidency in aden and we have targeted these camps like a [ inaudible ] camp and [ inaudible ] camp and the [ inaudible ] camp. these camps were hosting people supporting saleh and the houthi militias. we have targeted them. we have also targeted locations for the central police not for the sake of attacking the centers, but because these centers people are trying to change the presence of the forces there, and regarding the other locations targeted as you have noticed through the videos there are weapons -- those big and massive weapon stores and we mean big and massive, as i'm te

yemen imports over 90% of its food. and over 460 tons of wheat have been blockaded from entering the country. so it's not just about emergency aid, it's about food sup place. and it's effectively putting 26 million yemenese under siege. >> is the amount of medical supplies that have gone in going to help. >> well it has to happen on a daily basis. around 20 people a day are dying in the fighting. so it's going to need to be a regular occurrence daily, both into sana'a and aden to maintain that. >> thank you. >>> at least 43 members of iraq's security forces have been killed in fighting with isil in anbar province. the prime minister says a new offensive is to be launched against the armed group in that area. charles stratford reports now. >> reporter: iraqi army targets isil positions near the city of ramadi. they are struggling to demend the area from a push by isil. the fighting comes just days after the military supported by thousands of shia militia took control of the city of tikrit. this is a sunny muslim from tha

there are many various military factions that are fighting for control of yemen. >> yemen is definitely fragmented and even if there's a settlement in the future, yemen is never going to be the same again, because of this political divide. you have in the south, for example, forces loyal to hadi, mostly from the power base, but we have secessionists in several areas. after the latest developments, they say it's our time to have a republic of our own and they might get support from key neighboring countries. in the north, you have forces loyal to the houthis to the deposed president ali abdullah saleh and to the family in bad terms with the houthis. the moment we start talking about future of yemen that's when each key factor or player will ask for a bigger say in the future of yemen. we will see more problems, more bickering in the near future. >> what is the end game for the saudi-led coalition in yemen? it's been a week since the airstrikes started. >> there will definitely -- it's going to be an extremely delicate situation. if you go to the capital sanna you will see the minister of

the plan is yemen. now we are facing the same thing, they are in the same vote, the same end. >> reporter: even if a military victory appears imminent for the saudi-led coalition, the political conflict within yemen's society remains. finding a solution will require a consensus by all sides, not victory by one >>> now, within the past 36 hours there has been an increase in syrian government air strikes over aleppo and idlib. according to a human rights group, over 120 strikes killed 40 civilians. our correspondent is monitoring developments from lebanon. >> reporter: over 220,000 killed the syrian observatory for human rights say 65,000 killed since the fighting and that over 11,000 were children. the syrian observatory for human rights reported that clashes intensified. especially in idlib. it happened at the end of march. since then there has been more air raids by the syrian regime according to activists in the area. over the course of the past 36 hours we are told that there has been over 120 air ra

envoy to yemen jamal ben omar has resigned. the u.n. has said ben omar has expressed his desire to move on to another assignment. the war is increasing to intensify. it has been three weeks since saudi arabia began air strikes against houthi rebels. ben omar has warned the council that yemen was slipping towards a civil war. he was appointed in april 2011. he has been with the u.n. in various positions and before he was in yemen he was a political prisoner in his home country of morocco. ben omar's resignation was on the cards yemen officials were unhappy with his handling of the conference. >> national dialogue conference the u.n. was supposed to support everything that is happening in that dialogue. he was supposed to be the main mediator with yemen's political allies all on the ground. but what he did instead he is chap roand a process that was chaperoned a process that was all, a bureaucratic exercise of good governance with nothing being implemented on the ground. analysts and others like myself, have said, the salaries went to all