Special to WorldTribune.com
A Saudi-led coalition force of 4,000 troops is preparing for what is expected to be a grueling ground war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
UAE Brig. Gen. Nasser Mushabab Al Otaibi is leading the combined land force that consists of soldiers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Sudan. The troops are now in Yemen in anticipation of the first major Gulf Arab-led intervention as the coalition seeks to restore the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Since Saudi-led forces seized Aden in July, military officials say progress on the ground has been slow. The Houthis and their allies still control the country’s most populated areas, including the capital Sanaa, and have dug in for a long battle in the key city of Taiz.
“They are very good snipers. They’ve been using guns since they were this big,” a Yemeni soldier, holding his hand out at waist height, said of the Houthis.
Al Otaibi said it would take at least another month or two for the coalition to capture Taiz.
Saudi-led coalition soldiers are also training some 7,000 Yemeni troops, and plan to train and install a police force in Aden to replace local militias who currently man checkpoints.
“They have their own army, they are trying to build police, and they have a government in Aden … it’s a country now,” Al Otaibi said in an interview at the UAE’s military headquarters in Aden.
Arab coalition prepares for tough ground war in Yemen added by World Tribune on
View all posts by World Tribune →
You must be logged in to post a comment Login