Saudi-led coalition's mercenaries mutiny due to non-payment of salaries

27.04.2020, Najran.

Soldiers of the coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia Rebellion staged a mutiny because of unpaid salaries, YemenPress news portal informed on 26 April.

The incidents took place in the border areas of the Saudi Jizan, Najran and Asir provinces, which were historically part of the Yemeni territory.

It is written that the discontent was caused by Riyadh’s refusal to pay salaries for six months.

Most Saudi-led coalition’s fighters defending Saudi Arabian borders are poor Yemenis recruited with promises of salary payments, but many are turned down after being wounded in combat, the news portal noted.

Also, according to YemenPress news portal, the Saudis used extensive human trafficking networks to recruit fighters, including Yemeni child soldiers.

Background

In 2014, the Houthis, Shia tribes in northern Yemen, carried out a coup d’état and seized power in the northern provinces of the country, including its capital, Sanaa. In turn, the internationally-recognized Government and President Mansur Hadi moved their residences to the city of Aden, on Yemen’s southern coast.

As a result of the Houthis military successes and their advancement southward, in 2015 Saudi Arabia took the lead over a coalition of the Arab countries and launched the ground military Operation Decisive Storm in support of the official government.

Saudi Arabia’s greatest concern was the threat that the Houthis would reach the coastline of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. The latter is the most important maritime transport corridor through which Saudi Arabian oil tankers also pass. Another reason was that the Houthis are protected by Iran, the enemy of Sunni countries in the Islamic world and Saudi Arabia in particular.

Other forces are also involved in the Yemeni conflict. Among the largest forces is the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has complex relations with official Yemen and seeks the independence of southern Yemen. The large terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (an organization banned in Russia) is also acting in Yemen, and it controls large areas of central Yemen.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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