Saudi forces on the border with Yemen have on Thursday carried out a crackdown on a military brigade of Hadi loyalist forces, after hours of clashes with them. This was reported by Yemen News Portal, based on military sources .
The clash means that Saudi army forces effectively went to battle against units of the Saudi-backed puppet government of Yemen, in an unexpected case of infighting.
Saudi Army units arrested Brigadier General Adel al-Musabi, commander of a Special Forces brigade deployed on the border, and sentenced him to imprisonment after a lengthy investigation and torture, the sources said.
Saudi forces have also begun withdrawing all the brigade’s weapons and begun deporting its personnel and officers to Aden.
Saudi Arabia has tried to justify the move by saying that military brigade rebelled against Saudi forces and attacked positions in the Saudi hinterland.
The Saudi forces also accused the general of “cooperation with Yemeni army forces”, but other sources pointed out that differences began between Saudi officers and the brigade leadership because of Saudi looting of the salaries of soldiers and officers, which triggered clashes between the two sides.
Saudi Arabia has already arrested and deported dozens of its own officers for several individuals and officers in the past, but the timing of the deportation of this brigade, which is one of the most prominent military forces under Hadi’s command, may possibly be related to Saudi efforts to remove Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi from the scene entirely.
This clash comes not long after Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman unexpectedly called for peace negotiations with Yemen in a public interview, and spoke in diplomatic terms of the National Salvation Government that he had hitherto referred to in highly antagonistic terms.
