Loyalist fighters check the wreckage of a destroyed Boeing 747 plane at the international airport of Yemen's southern port city of Aden. The militiamen captured Aden's main port and a neighboring district on Wednesday, a big prize in their battle to drive Houthi forces from the southern city, residents and fighters said. — Reuters
Loyalists make anti-Houthi gains
ADEN — Several ministers from Yemen's exiled government have returned to the country for the first time since being forced to flee by Houthi rebels in March.
The ministers, accompanied by senior intelligence officials, flew by helicopter to a military base on the outskirts of the southern city of Aden.
The visit by ministers and intelligence officials follows military setbacks for the Houthis at the hands of Saudi-backed Yemeni fighters which may mark a turning point in the conflict that has killed more than 3,500 people.
The southern port city of Aden has been a focus of fighting since the Houthis first laid siege to it in March when it was home to the government which subsequently fled to Saudi Arabia.
“(Exiled President) Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi delegated this group to return to Aden to work to prepare the security situation and ensure stability ahead of a revival of the institutions of state in Aden,” a local official told Reuters after the group arrived by helicopter at a military air base.
The delgation included the ministers of the interior and transport, a former interior minister, the intelligence chief and the deputy head of the house of representatives.
Local fighters have wrested Yemen's airport and main seaport from the northern militia group in the past two days, in fighting that killed dozens of people, according to medics.
The Houthis seized Sanaa in September and pushed into Yemen's south and east in March and April in what they say is a revolution against a corrupt government and hardline Sunni militants.
In a statement posted on Houthi-controlled state media, the group said it was weathering the Aden offensive. “Over 150 airstrikes did not deter the advance of the army and popular committees in achieving victories against the elements of extremism,” news agency Saba quoted a pro-Houthi military official saying.
A major offensive to regain control of Aden, dubbed “Operation Golden Arrow”, was launched on Monday by local militiamen from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and Yemeni soldiers recently trained in Saudi Arabia.
With the help of airstrikes and about 100 armored vehicles reportedly provided by the coalition, they have been able to recapture the city's seaport, the international airport, and a large proportion of the peninsula where much of Aden is located.
Militia officials said they were advancing, backed up by Saudi-led airstrikes, toward one of Yemen's most important air bases about 50 km north of Aden.
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Asiri, coalition spokesman and adviser at the office of the minister of defense Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Asiri, said the gains were a joint effort between local fighters, army units, the exiled government and the alliance.
“There is daily, ongoing coordination to push the operations forward ... on the level of information, military training and especially supporting the air operations to achieve results on the ground,” Al-Asiri told Saudi Ekhbariya TV.
