Members of the Saudi border guard and army’s (APC) armoured personnel carrier patrol the Saudi-Yemeni border, in southwestern Saudi Arabia, in this April 9, 2015 photo.

Five Saudi soldiers laid down their lives defending the Kingdom on Jazan border with Yemen, armed forces headquarters announced late on Sunday.

Yemen’s internationally recognized president will not participate in UN-brokered talks later this week with Iran-backed Shiite rebels, his office said Sunday.

The statement said there would be no talks with the Houthis, unless they accept a UN resolution that obliges them to withdraw from areas they seized and surrender weapons taken from state institutions.

The announcement came as President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government is making preparations to return to the port city of Aden at the end of this month following the Eid Al-Adha holiday, two senior Yemeni government officials told AP.

Also Sunday, a delegation of anti-rebel militia leaders from Aden traveled to Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the request of the Hadi government to meet Yemeni and coalition officials, said anti-rebel militia leader Adeeb Al-Eisy.

Meanwhile, Hadi forces have started a military operation aimed at retaking the central Yemeni province of Maarib from the Houthis, according to Al Arabiya News Channel.

Popular Resistance units, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, started the operation early Sunday with the help of the Yemeni Army.