Local Editor
Three foreign military advisers have been killed in clashes with Ansarullah fighters and allied forces in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz Province.
Yemen’s al-Marsad news agency said on Wednesday that the US-based private military contractor, Blackwater, employed the three foreign mercenaries to fight against Yemenis.
According to Yemeni sources, the recent fatalities have brought to 14 the number of Blackwater forces killed in clashes in the war-torn country.
On Tuesday, six Colombian soldiers and their Australian commander, Pilip Stitman, were killed after allied forces backed by the Ansarullah movement launched retaliatory attacks on Saudi-led forces in al-Amri region in Bab-el-Mandeb area in Ta’izz.
Sources in Colombia have confirmed the presence of Colombian nationals in Yemen, saying the troops have been promised a weekly salary of USD 1,000 and United Arab Emirates [UAE] citizenship.
The New York Times reported on November 25 that the UAE has "secretly" deployed 450 Latin American troops, mostly from Colombia, but also from Panama, El Salvador and Chile, to fight in the war on Yemen.
Yemeni sources say the Colombians fighting in the country are part of a larger battalion who has been training in the UAE deserts over the past five years.
Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of forces from Egypt, Sudan, Colombia and private contractors against Houthi fighters.
Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since March 26. The Saudi military strikes were launched with the purported target of undermining Ansarullah and bringing fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
