Saudi Arabia’s security agencies are currently working to evacuate 30 Saudi citizens still trapped in Yemen.

This is according to Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Saeed Al-Jaber, who was recently evacuated with 85 Saudi and Gulf diplomats and journalists from Yemen.

Al-Jaber was quoted as saying in a local publication on Monday that most of the Saudis still in Yemen have roots in that country. More names were being added to the list, he said.

Al-Jaber, a former colonel at the Ministry of Defense, said that Saudi military forces had undertaken a dangerous operation when they launched the evacuation of the diplomats because there were clashes underway with forces allied to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthi militants.

He said they had come under fire during the operation, which was carried out by heavily armed Saudi officers.

Crown Prince Muqrin, deputy premier, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, second deputy premier and interior minister, had overseen the operations of the special squad, he said.

Al-Jaber said the security situation in Aden was worse than in Sanaa. He said the diplomatic missions had delayed their evacuation despite the danger because they wanted to emphasize the legitimacy of the government led by President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

“The plans were implemented when the Houthi militants and Saleh’s forces reached the residential area in Aden, in Dar Al-Saad neighborhood near the embassy,” he said.

The Saudi security squad did not have to use their weapons during the evacuation to the port. The embassy had not come under attack then, he said.

Al-Jaber said the Houthi militants and their supporters had rejected peace talks since the beginning of the crisis in 2011. “The Houthis rejected all agreements,” he said.