Saudi and Sudanese troops, tanks and other military hardware rolled into the southern Yemeni province of Aden on Wednesday, a local government source said.

The deployment of troops allied with the Yemeni government comes a day after it denied that a deal would soon be inked with separatists that would allow the cabinet to retake its interim seat in Aden.

The reinforcements have been stationed west of the key port city between the Aden airport and a military camp of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, with more troops expected to move into Al Anad Air Base north of Aden after it was vacated by UAE forces last week.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi was forced out of Aden in August after the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council seized parts of Yemen’s south. Hadi fled to Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

-Agencies