SANAA, Yemen -- Saudi-led airstrikes targeted Iran-backed rebels and their allies in Yemen on Wednesday, hours after Riyadh declared an end to a nearly month-long air campaign. The Shiite forces later said they would welcome United Nations-led peace talks to end a conflict that's killed hundreds without dislodging them from the capital.
The rebels, known as Houthis, said they are calling for a resumption of dialogue and any efforts under the auspices of the U.N. that lead to a peaceful compromise.
"We welcome any United Nations efforts that are on the side of peaceful solutions," Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdul-Salam said in a statement, which came as thousands of angry Houthi supporters marched in the capital, Sanaa, denouncing what they described as "Saudi-American aggression."
The continuing Saudi-led strikes suggest that the U.S.-backed offensive, aimed at restoring Yemen's internationally recognized president, is entering a new phase in which military action will be scaled back but not halted.
The air raids hit rebel positions in the southern port of Aden and near the central city of Taiz as ground fighting between the rebels and their allies against supporters of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi continued in both areas, Yemeni officials said.
The capital, Sanaa, was calm, however, as residents experienced their quietest night in almost four weeks and did not wake up to new scenes of devastation. Late in the day, thousands of pro-Houthi demonstrators marched in the city.
The strikes near Taiz hit the Shiite rebels as they gathered at a military headquarters they control near the old airport to the city's southeast, officials said. In Aden, aircraft blasted rebel forces in outlying districts. In both areas, the Houthis are fighting alongside forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In Taiz, pro-government forces who control most of the city were in heavy combat with the rebels. Dozens have been killed on both sides. In Aden, rebels fired mortars, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
Iran has provided political and humanitarian support to the Houthis, but both Tehran and the rebels deny it has armed them. On Wednesday, Iran welcomed the Saudi decision to halt the operation code-named "Decisive Storm" and launch a new one titled "Renewal of Hope."
Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said Tuesday that the heavy airstrikes would be scaled down. He said the goals of the new operation are to prevent Houthi rebels from "targeting civilians or changing realities on the ground."
"We believe this was a positive step," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marzieh Afkham said Wednesday, adding that "political cooperation" by all parties is needed to resolve the Yemen crisis.
The Saudi-led air campaign, begun March 26, was aimed at crushing the Houthis and allied military units loyal to Saleh.
But the rebels and their allies have lost little ground, and Hadi remains in exile in Saudi Arabia. Aden, where he had established a temporary capital before fleeing the country last month, is gripped by fierce fighting. Al-Qaida's powerful local affiliate has exploited the chaos to seize the southeastern port city of Mukalla.
The violence in Yemen has killed at least 944 people since the start of the airstrikes and wounded 3,500, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The U.S. also welcomed the conclusion of the Saudi-led operation, saying it looked forward to a shift from military operations to a quick resumption of negotiations.
Yemeni security officials meanwhile said a likely U.S. drone strike killed seven suspected al-Qaida fighters in the country's east Wednesday. They said the militants were traveling in a car in Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt province, where al-Qaida has recently made advances and struck deals with tribesmen.
Later Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said suspected al-Qaida gunmen on a motorcycle killed a security officer in a drive-by shooting.
Yemen's chaos has forced the U.S. to scale back drone strikes on al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the local affiliate is known. The group has carried out a number of failed attacks on the U.S. and claimed the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo earlier this year.
Information for this article was contributed by Aya Batrawy and Ali Akbar Dareini of The Associated Press.
A Section on 04/23/2015