Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar said on Thursday they had decided to act to protect Yemen against what they called aggression by the Houhti militia, according to a joint statement by the five Gulf Arab countries.
"Our countries decided to respond to the plea of His Excellency Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, President of Yemen, to protect Yemen and its dear people from the Houthi militias' aggression," the statement, carried on the official Saudi news agency, said.
Saudi Arabia earlier announced it had started a military campaign to defend Hadi's government, which is fighting Houthi militia forces who contest his legitimacy as head of state.
