US, Saudis not considering ground operation in Yemen

Sputnik
Thu, 07 May 2015 14:46 UTC

© AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik

Saudi Arabia and the United States do not consider putting boots on the ground in war-torn Yemen, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.

Kerry, who is in Saudi Arabia for negotiations with his counterpart Adel Jubeir, said at a press conference there was no talk of sending troops to Yemen to roll back Houthi rebels' insurgency there.

In an earlier Twitter post, Kerry said he had held a constructive meeting with Yemen's fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who fled to Riyadh earlier this year following the rebel advance on his stronghold in the port city Aden.

Constructive meeting with #Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Hadi & VP Khalid Baha in #Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this a.m. pic.twitter.com/K8uhTB80eE— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) May 7, 2015

Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war after the Shiite Houthis seized large swathes of land last summer and overran the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Clashes between rebels and forces loyal to US- and Saudi-backed Yemeni President Hadi, and Saudi Arabia's ensuing air operation in Yemen have plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis.

Saudi-led air raids by an international coalition of Arab forces continued into May, despite Riyadh's announcement last month that the military phase of its operation was over. Earlier in the day, Saudi Foreign Minister Jubeir pledged to uphold a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

Comment: Interesting development considering Yemen's government pleas for a ground invasion:

The Yemeni government has sent a letter to the UN asking "to quickly intervene by land forces to save" the nation. The contested cities of Aden and Taiz are of particular concern to anti-Houthi forces, according to the letter seen by Reuters.

Yemen's UN envoy Khaled Alyemany reportedly sent the letter on Wednesday. Such a move could provide a legal ground for putting foreign boots on the ground in the war-torn country.

Addressed to the UN Security Council, the letter also asks human rights groups to record "barbaric violations against a defenseless population" and blames the Houthi Shiite rebels for the death of civilians.