Riyadh--A Saudi adviser on Thursday denied that special forces from the kingdom had landed in Yemen's port city of Aden, saying they were troops linked to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The fighters who went ashore in Aden were "Yemeni special forces loyal to Saleh who landed by small boat" to secure a district of Aden, said the adviser who did not want to be identified.
"They are few in numbers and have made their way to the old parliament building," the source said.
Witnesses separately said fighters and tanks of the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and allied army units loyal to Saleh had entered the presidential palace in Aden.
Their advance came despite a week of Saudi-led coalition air strikes aimed at defeating the Huthis and their allies after Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled to Riyadh last week.
The coalition says it has no plans for now to deploy ground forces in Yemen.
A Western diplomat in Riyadh said Thursday that Saudi Arabia is "not very keen to go on the ground" with troops.
AFP
