SANA, Yemen — Qatar has deployed ground forces in Yemen for the first time, dispatching 1,000 troops to battle Shi’ite rebels in a central province where both sides are gearing up for what could prove to be a decisive battle, Yemeni officials said Monday.
The deployment, which was also reported by the Qatar-based and funded Al-Jazeera news network, marks a major escalation by the Saudi-led coalition, which has been bombing the rebels from the air since March and which includes Qatar.
The conflict pits the rebels, known as Houthis, against an array of forces, including supporters of Saudi-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, southern separatists, Islamic militants, and tribal militias. It has splintered the military, with units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh siding with the Houthis.
Some 2,100 civilians have been killed in the fighting, according to the United Nations.
The Qatari troops have arrived in the central province of Marib, where a rebel missile strike killed 60 coalition forces on Friday, said the officials, who are loyal to Hadi.
The Houthis control the Yemeni capital, Sana, just to the west of Marib.