Saudi moving military equipment near Yemen border: US officials

The buildup comes as the Houthis in Yemen advance closer towards Aden where the president is holed up.

WASHINGTON // Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, raising the risk that the kingdom will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict, according to US officials.

The build-up follows a southward advance by Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite militants who took control of the capital Sanaa in September and seized the central city of Taez at the weekend as they move closer to the new southern base of US-backed president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

The armour and artillery being moved by Saudi Arabia could be used for offensive or defensive purposes, two US government sources said on Tuesday.

Two other US officials said the build-up appeared to be defensive.

One US government source described the size of the Saudi build-up on Yemen’s border as “significant” and said the Saudis could be preparing air strikes to defend Mr Hadi if the Houthis attack his refuge in the southern seaport of Aden.

Another US official said Washington had acquired intelligence about the Saudi build-up. But there was no immediate word on the precise location near the border or the exact size of the force deployed.

The conflict risks spiralling into a proxy war with Shiite Iran backing the Houthis, whose leaders adhere to the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam, and Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Gulf countries backing Mr Hadi.

Mr Hadi, who supported Washington’s campaign of deadly drone strikes on a powerful Al Qaeda branch based in Yemen, has been holed up in Aden with his loyalist forces since he fled Sanaa in February.

Saudi Arabia shares a porous 1,800km border with Yemen.

Riyadh hosted top-level talks with Gulf Arab neighbours on Saturday that backed Mr Hadi as Yemen’s legitimate president and offered “all efforts” to preserve the country’s stability.

Saudi foreign minister Saud Al Faisal said on Monday Arab countries would take necessary measures to protect the region against “aggression” by the Houthi movement if a peaceful solution could not be found.

On Wednesday, army officers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a powerful Hothi ally, strongly rejected any foreign intervention to end the country’s worsening conflict, a statement carried on a website affiliated to Mr Saleh said.

Mr Saleh is still highly influential in the military despite having given up power in 2011 after mass protests against his rule, and troops loyal to him are backing Houthi forces fighting his successor, Mr Hadi.

“We express our total and utter rejection of any external interference in Yemeni affairs under any pretext and in any form and from any side,” the so-called Higher Committee to Preserve the Armed Forces and Security said.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any military movements.

Yemen asked the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to back military action by “willing countries” to combat Houthi militias, according to a letter from Mr Hadi.

Mr Hadi wants the 15-member body to adopt a resolution that would authorise “willing countries that wish to help Yemen to provide immediate support for the legitimate authority by all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter the Houthi aggression”.

Fighting has spread across Yemen since last September when the Houthis seized Sanaa and advanced into Sunni Muslim areas.

The US on Saturday evacuated all its remaining personnel in Yemen, including more than 100 special operations forces, because of the deteriorating security situation. The end of a US security presence inside the country has dealt a blow to Washington's ability to monitor and fight Al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate.

* Reuters