A Saudi border guard was killed and three others were wounded by a land mine that exploded while on patrol alongside the border with Yemen on Monday, according to reports.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the blast injured the soldiers in Saudi Arabia’s southern Jazan Province on the border with Yemen.
Reuters reports that it was not immediately clear if the mine had been planted recently or had been there prior to a lull in fighting on the border since March. Aside from an intercepted missile fired into Saudi Arabia from Yemen early in May, the border has been quiet since peace talks began.
Saudi soldiers train on the border with Yemen.
Peace talks between the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been ongoing for nearly a month in Kuwait and appear to have stalled. Yemen’s foreign minister has commented that his government would give the talks “one last chance,” according to the Saudi Gazette. That statement came four days after the delegation suspended participation in the process aimed at ending the war.
Saudi Arabia’s top general recently stated that the Saudi-led coalition would fight to regain Yemen’s capital city from Houthi rebels if the current peace talks backed by the United Nations collapse. Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, who has been the official spokesman for the Saudi military during the conflict, said Saudi Arabia “cannot leave Yemen in a gray area…Having Yemen as a failed state is not a benefit to anyone.”
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Bloomberg this spring that the Kingdom believes a peaceful solution is possible in Yemen but is ready for any outcome.
“There is significant progress in negotiations, and we have good contacts with the Houthis…We believe that we are closer than ever to a political solution in Yemen. So we are pushing to have this opportunity materialize on the ground, but if things relapse, we are ready.”
