Saudi Arabia sends ground forces into Yemen
For the first time in war, coalition troops enter port city of Aden; more on their way
Saudi Arabia led at least 20 ground troops into Aden, Yemen Sunday to support loyalist militia fighting rebels, an official said.
“A limited coalition force entered Aden and another force is on its way” to the southern port city, said the government official and militia commander.
The Saudi-led coalition has been conducting an air war against the Houthi rebels and their allies since March 26 but this is the first reported ground deployment inside the country.
Officials and witnesses in Aden said the black-clad and masked troops landed Sunday in a central area between the city’s neighborhood of al-Mansoura and the airport. They said helicopter gunships hovered above the landing area.
There were no reports yet of fighting between the Arab troops and Iranian-allied Shiite rebels and their supporters, who have for weeks been trying to capture the strategic port city on the Arabian Sea.
A leading member of the popular committees, a locally recruited militia loyal to exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, told AFP that the force “will start helping us in fighting the (Shiite) Houthis and (former president Ali Abdullah) Saleh’s forces.”
He said the troops will mainly back pro-Hadi fighters around the rebel-held international airport, which was the focus of renewed heavy fighting overnight.
Other militia commanders confirmed that a few dozen coalition soldiers, mostly Saudis and Emiratis of Yemeni origin, were on the ground in Aden.
The coalition declared an end to its Operation Decisive Storm on April 21, saying the campaign would enter a new phase dubbed Renewal of Hope focused on political efforts, aid deliveries and “fighting terrorism.”
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri had said repeatedly during the first phase that a ground intervention was on the table if needed.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to brief journalists.
Defending Aden are militiamen loyal to President Hadi, who fled the city to neighboring Saudi Arabia in March.
