Sau dis, Egyptians may send ground forces to Y em en
Alliesm ove to ou st Shiite reb els, let president retu rn.
— As airstrikes SANAA, YEMEN in Yemen intensi'ied on their second day Friday, Egyp t and Saudi Arabia w ere considering sending in ground troop s, aimed at giving the p resident a secure foothold to return to the country, military of'icials said.
A likely entry p oint for troop s from the Saudi-led Arab coalition w as the southern p ort of Aden, the Yemeni and Egyp tian military of'icials said.
But that could be a tough p rosp ect: The city is already a battleground, and on Friday forces loyal to the Shiite rebels’ top ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, w ere advancing tow ard it.
The of'icials’ comments draw broad outlines for the ambitious camp aign launched Thursday, led by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia w ith a major role by its ally Egyp t.
The aim, they said, w as to carve out enough room for the return of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, w ho w as forced to flee the country from Aden.
Longer-term, the camp aign aims to w ear dow n the Shiite rebels, know n as Houthis, and Saleh’s forces, enough to reach a p ow er-sharing accord. The of'icials sp oke on condition of anonymity to discuss the p lans.
“The credibility and legitimacy of President Hadi erode w ith every day he sp ends outside the country,” said one Yemeni military of'icial. Hadi fled by boat from Aden on Wednesday, making his w ay to Saudi Arabia.
The forces of Saleh ap p ear to be a key concern. Saleh ruled Yemen w ith an autocratic hand for nearly 40 years until he w as forced out and rep laced by Hadi in 2012 follow ing an Arab Sp ring up rising.
But he remained in Yemen and kep t the loyalty of many military commanders. One Yemeni of'icial estimated that 70 p ercent of the army is loyal to Saleh, including many of the best armed and trained units based around the country.
Those p ro-Saleh troop s have been 'ighting alongside the Iranian-allied Houthis.
Washington says the U.S. is p roviding refueling tankers and surveillance flights for the Saudi op erations, and there are several U.S. troop s w orking in the op erations center, but the U.S is not taking direct military action.