"Yes I'm calling for this (ground forces) because I think at some stage air strikes will be ineffective," Riyadh Yassin told AFP during an interview in the Saudi capital where he has taken refuge along with President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
His appeal coincided with warnings from aid groups about a brewing humanitarian crisis and civilian casualties in Yemen, where the coalition began air strikes a week ago.
Yassin said ground forces would cause "less civilian casualties" but added the main reason he proposes a land operation is to enable aid deliveries.
"We don't have a safe place from where they can operate," he said of the aid groups.
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A Western diplomatic source on Wednesday said that a land offensive would be "very, very complicated and difficult", partly because it would have to pass mountainous terrain in the country's north, with which the Huthi rebels are highly familiar.
The source ruled out a seaborne landing because the coalition lacks amphibious forces.
Aid agencies said on Tuesday they could not get assistance into Yemen.
The closure of the country's international airports, and restrictions on seaports, are hampering delivery, Doctors Without Borders said.
Assiri said all kinds of assistance for Yemen's needy are welcome but it has to go through "diplomatic channels".
He said the movement of aid needs to be coordinated with the military "to make sure that we don't have any mistakes or any misunderstandings concerning the movement in the ports or airports or through the Saudi border."
"I'm very, very concerned" about the civilian impact, Yassin said.