SANAA: Arab-led coalition warplanes launched fresh airstrikes against Houthi rebels across Yemen Wednesday despite international concerns over the escalation after the suspension of peace talks.

The coalition resumed strikes days after U.N.-brokered peace talks in Kuwait between representatives of the government and the rebels ended without a breakthrough.

The coalition, which has been battling to prop up Yemen’s government against the Houthis since March 2015, hit rebel positions across northern Yemen, coalition officials and tribal sources said.

That came a day after coalition jets struck targets around Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, for the first time in three months.

The United Nations said it was alarmed at the resumption of air raids. “The secretary-general is deeply concerned about reports of increased fighting between various parties in Al-Hajjah, Saada and Sanaa provinces including over the past few days,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon.

France said its Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke by phone with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and emphasized the importance of a cease-fire to pave the way for a political solution in Yemen.

Iran, which Riyadh accuses of supporting the Houthis, denounced the international community’s “inaction” while Saudi Arabia carried out what it called “atrocities” against Yemenis.

It called on the U.N. and countries that supply arms to Saudi Arabia to make “effective efforts to stop these attacks and ... protect civilians.”

The renewed violence came as the Pentagon said it had approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of up to 153 tanks, hundreds of machineguns and other military gear in a deal worth $1.15 billion.

Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted missiles fired from Yemeni territory toward two of its southern towns Wednesday morning.

The rebel-controlled Saba news agency said one missile was launched toward a military base across the frontier, without providing further details.

The coalition responded by targeting rocket launch positions belonging to Houthis in Amran province, north of Sanaa, it said in a statement.

Tribal sources said airstrikes hit the rebels’ positions across their northern stronghold province of Saada Wednesday.

Clashes also flared between coalition forces and the insurgents close to the Saudi border, military sources told AFP.

Yemeni officials said government forces and Houthi rebels were engaged in fierce fighting in Haradh, which borders the southern Saudi province of Jazzan.

Coalition air raids on Sanaa Tuesday hit a factory, killing 14 people, according to medics. Airstrikes also temporarily closed Sanaa’s international airport.

Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said renewed coalition strikes in Yemen were justified after the failure of negotiations and a series of rebel violations of a three-month truce.

At a news conference in Riyadh, Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi condemned the Houthis and the forces loyal to their ally, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, after they created a council to govern Yemen.

Mikhlafi said the body was “unconstitutional,” and called on MPs to boycott a meeting to be held Saturday to approve its creation.