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Saudi special forces involved in Yemen aggression: Advisor

Sunday, 05 April 2015 12:25 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 05 April 2015 12:25 AM ]

Saudi special forces snipers run before taking a position during military exercises on March 18, 2015.

Saudi Arabian special forces get involved in the kingdom’s aggression against its impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen, a senior Saudi adviser says.

Saudi army and naval special forces have performed specific military operations in Yemen, the unnamed adviser told AFP on Saturday, without talking about any ground operations.

Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen started on March 26 in a bid to restore power to fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. Some 10 other countries later joined the airstrikes.

Naval forces have provided supporters of Hadi with "coordination and guidance" to enable them to launch attacks on the Houthi Ansarullah fighters, the advisor said.

He further noted that army special forces have supplied weapons and communications equipment to forces loyal to Hadi in the key southern city of Aden.

On Thursday, Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir, denied the presence of Saudi forces in Aden, saying, "We don't have troops, formal Saudi troops in Aden."

The issue of ground troops is "on the table but the decisions will be made depending on the circumstances and the need," Jubeir noted.

Special forces "will continue their engagements" with Hadi loyalists, the advisor further stressed.

The advisor also stated that Saudi special forces were involved in the Thursday raids against Ansarullah fighters on Myun Island in the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, through which much of the world's maritime trade passes.

Saudi-led coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri said on Friday that airstrikes had destroyed "military equipment and missiles" of Ansarullah forces on the island.

Also on Thursday, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said in a statement at least 519 people, including women and children, have so far lost their lives in two weeks of violence in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia's airstrikes continue unabated.