Around 1,000 Qatari soldiers have been deployed to Yemen, as part of the Saudi-led coalition’s fight against Houthi fighters.
The troops were backed by more than 200 armored vehicles and 30 Apache combat helicopters, Al Jazeera reported.
The troops are now heading to Yemen’s Maareb province, to join the Saudi-led coalition already fighting in the area.
More Qatari troops are reportedly heading into Yemen with the aim of securing the Al-Jawf Governorate.
The news comes as coalition forces pounded the Yemeni capital Sana’a with airstrikes on Sunday, following the killing of 60 Persian Gulf soldiers in a missile attack on Friday.
Upwards of 4,500 people have been killed in the Yemen conflict, including hundreds of children, according to the UN which has warned that the country is on the brink of famine.
More than 260 wounded people, mostly civilians, were flown from Aden to coalition member Jordan on Sunday for medical treatment.
UAE Pledging for Revenge
Delivering on a promise to quickly avenge their heaviest ever military loss, UAE jets have pounded Houthi positions in Yemen, hitting many civilians, in the “most violent” air raid since the Saudi-led bombardment campaign began six months ago.
The airstrikes in Yemen on Sunday were the heaviest since the Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict to reinstate power of their allied president Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi who had been deposed by Houthi fighters.
The heavy air raids by the United Arab Emirates jets on Houthi positions in Yemen coincided with the funeral of the 45 UAE soldiers who were killed in Houthi rocket attack on Friday. The incident, in which 10 Saudis and five Bahraini servicemen also lost their lives, became the deadliest day for the coalition forces, and UAE’s own military history.
“Our revenge shall not take long,” Emirati media quoted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed as warning. “We will press ahead until we purge Yemen of the scum.”
Heavy Bombardment
On Sunday, the coalition planes pounded Houthi positions at military bases in Nahdain and Fajj Attan hills in Sana’a. A neighboring presidential complex, south of Sana’a, was also outlined as a target in addition to the special forces’ headquarters. Coalition aircraft also reportedly attacked Houthi positions in the northern neighborhoods of Sufan and Al-Nahda North, according to AFP.
However, according to witnesses, the bombardment of the capital was conducted indiscriminately, hitting a school, restaurants and embassies. The strikes wounded at least 17 people, including students taking final exams, medical officials told AP.
The latest raids in Sana’a were the “most violent” since the beginning of the Arab air campaign on March 26, a local official told AFP. On Saturday alone, at least 27 members of two families were killed by airstrikes on the capital, according to hospital officials cited by Reuters.
But the deadliest strike hit the Al-Jawf province north of Sana’a, killing at least 20 people who had been attending a wake.
Elsewhere in the country, the coalition targeted formations in Bayhan, in the southern province of Shabwa, military sources told AFP. In Baida province, at least 27 people were killed including at least three civilians over the last two days in the town of Mukayris, military sources added.
