Coalition Says No Major Ground Force in Yemen's Aden amid Reports of 'Limited' Force

The Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen denied a major ground force had landed Sunday after reports of the deployment of troops in main southern city Aden.

"I can assure you that no (coalition) forces disembarked on the ground in Aden today," coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri told the Saudi al-Ekhbariya news channel.

Speaking to the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news channel, he said that the coalition "cannot comment on future or ongoing operations" and that "all options are open."

"The coalition leadership will not spare any effort to support the resistance and achieve positive results on the ground," Assiri said.

Asked to comment on images of men wearing helmets and carrying sophisticated weapons in Aden, Assiri said: "It is not in the interest of the security of operations or the safety of those carrying them out to announce details."

The Saudi-led coalition has been conducting an air war against the Huthi rebels and their allies since March 26 but Sunday saw the first reported ground deployment inside the country.

A government official in Aden as well as coalition-backed militiamen in the port city told AFP that a "limited" number of Saudi-led ground troops had deployed in the city to support loyalist forces fighting rebels around the airport.

"A limited coalition force entered Aden and another force is on its way" to the southern port city, an official said, requesting anonymity.

A leading member of the popular committees, a locally recruited militia loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, told Agence France-Presse that the force "will start helping us in fighting the (Shiite) Huthis and (former president Ali Abdullah) Saleh's forces."

He said the troops will mainly back pro-Hadi fighters around the rebel-held international airport, which was the focus of renewed heavy fighting overnight.

Other militia commanders confirmed that a few dozen coalition soldiers, mostly Saudis and Emiratis of Yemeni origin, were on the ground in Aden.

An AFP journalist saw several men in the vicinity of the airport dressed in clean military-style clothing, wearing helmets and carrying sophisticated weaponry.

One militia source said some 30 soldiers from coalition countries had deployed to "supervise" operations to retake the airport.

Later on Sunday, coalition warplanes pounded rebel positions in and around the airport as clashes raged on, said a pro-Hadi military official.

Medics in Aden said that at least 18 people, most of them civilians, were killed since Saturday and 65 others wounded.

Local officials said most of the casualties resulted from rebel mortar shelling and gunfire across residential areas.

The coalition declared an end to its Operation Decisive Storm on April 21, saying the campaign would enter a new phase dubbed Renewal of Hope focused on political efforts, aid deliveries and "fighting terrorism."

Spokesman Assiri had said repeatedly during the first phase that a ground intervention was on the table if needed.