Saudi Arabia denied that a ground operation was under way by the anti-Houthi coalition it leads, but declined to comment on Sunday on the presence of special forces - a topic Riyadh has consistently refused to address in the more than one-month-old conflict.
In Aden, Ali al-Ahmadi, the spokesman for the Southern Popular Resistance, a group defending the southern port city against an advance by the Iranian-allied Houthis, told Reuters news agency that the fighters battling the rebels around Aden airport are Yemenis, not Arab special forces troops deployed by the Saudi-led coalition.
A Saudi spokesperson has also issued a denial. He confirmed, however, that the Arab coalition remained engaged in the fight in the Arabian Peninsula nation.
"There are no foreign forces in Aden but coalition continues to help fight against the Houthi militia," Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri said in a statement.
- The coalition, which seeks to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, includes eight other Arab states and is receiving logistical support from the United States, Britain and France.
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video al jazeera.com
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Special forces troops fighting the Houthi militia in Aden were Yemenis deployed there two weeks ago after retraining in Gulf Arab countries, not foreign troops, Yemen's Foreign Minister Riad Yassin said Monday...
ReplyDeleteTheir smart uniforms and equipment led to reports Sunday that a Saudi-led Arab coalition had sent in ground troops after weeks of airstrikes against the Iran-allied Houthi rebels and army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"It's a group of the Yemeni forces. We retrained them and we send them to organize things. We are now training more and we are sending more," Yassin, part of President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi's government in exile in Riyadh, said in an interview.....Reuters....dailystar.com.lb
4/5/15