Saudi Arabia has deployed more troops in southern Yemen to try to contain clashes between nominal allies in the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis. The fight for the south of the country has opened a new conflict, focused around the port of Aden, Reuters said.
Saudi soldiers and armed vehicles arrived over the weekend in the capital of the oil-producing Shabwa province, according to two local officials. The United Arab Emirates-backed separatists have been battling there against the forces of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
Saudi Arabia has reinforced its positions in Shabwa and Aden as Riyadh calls for talks to resolve the crisis and refocus the Western-backed coalition on battling the Houthis.
“Saudi forces arrived in Shabwa and started working with the local government for a de-escalation and a ceasefire,” coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said.