US commander visits Yemen border for firsthand look at war

The top US commander for the Middle East got a firsthand look on Wednesday at Saudi Arabia’s military fight against Yemen’s rebels.
Gen. Joseph Votel’s trip to the Saudi-Yemeni border area comes as the US presses on with a campaign targeting Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen and tries to determine its level of support for key allies engaged in the impoverished country’s violent civil war.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other close partners of Washington have been fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for more than two years.
Votel never crossed into Yemeni territory during the visit, which lasted much of the day, Air Force Col. John Thomas, a US Central Command spokesman, said.
He said the small group traveling with Votel got separated from him at one point and there were other logistical problems, including a vehicle breakdown.
The objective of Votel’s 600-mile day trip from Riyadh to Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Jazan region was “to develop a better understanding of the Saudi challenges with security at the border,” Thomas said.
Votel met with Saudi Arabia’s Lt. Gen. Fahd bin Turki, toured an operations center and met Saudi commanders and troops. It was his first visit to the Yemen border region as head of Central Command.
Journalists traveling with Votel were not allowed to accompany him. Officials cited a lack of seats in the aircraft used to ferry him to the region.
The US has conducted more than 80 airstrikes against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters in Yemen this year, in an expanded campaign to target a group the US has long considered one of the most dangerous threats to the American homeland. AQAP has been responsible for a number of attempted attacks in the US, including multiple plots to blow up American airliners flying over the country.
After taking office, President Donald Trump authorized a more aggressive approach against AQAP. But only days into his tenure, a ground raid produced the first casualty of his presidency with the death of a US Navy SEAL, Senior Chief William “Ryan” Owens.

Source: Arab News