Saudi Arabia ‘oversees deployment of ground troops in Yemen’
It is believed to be the first time ground troops have been sent into Yemen during the month-long war between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and government forces. But Saudi Arabia, which has led airstrikes over Yemen to halt the Houthis’ sweep through the country, denied that a large-scale ground operation was underway.
Brigadier Baghash Akhbari, a local commander, said the fighters were not Saudi troops but Yemeni nationals sent to bolster the strength of local Houthi militants. “The Gulf states oversaw their arrival to the battlefront,” he said.
A former British colony built in the dusty crevices of an extinct volcano, Aden has witnessed the fiercest battles of Yemen’s war. Heavy clashes raged near the city’s airport on Sunday, after local militia attacked Houthi forces. By nightfall, local fighters said they had seized control of the city’s airports.
From the air, Houthi positions have been pounded by the Saudi-led military coalition, with extensive damage to civilian areas.