Yemeni Houthis and their Army allies reach central Aden in tanks
At least 37 workers killed and 80 wounded in dairy plant bombing
MoS for external affairs Gen. V. K. Singh ( Retd) with Indian nationals after they were evacuated from Aden ( Yemen) to Djibouti on Wednesday. Houthi fighters and their Army allies advanced in a column of tanks on Wednesday into a central district of the southern city of Aden, the main foothold of loyalists of President Abd- Rabbu Mansour Hadi, witnesses said.
Aden/ Sanaa, April 1: Houthi fighters and their Army allies advanced in a column of tanks on Wednesday into a central district of the southern city of Aden, the main foothold of loyalists of President Abd- Rabbu Mansour Hadi, witnesses said.
The Houthis’ military push into the Khor Maksar district happened despite a week of Saudi- led air strikes as well as bombardment from naval vessels off the coast of Aden aimed at reversing relentless Houthi gains on the battlefield.
The Shia Muslim fighters and their ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, emerged as the dominant force in Yemen after they took over the capital six months ago.
Aden residents saw large groups of fighters carrying rocket propelled grenades accompanied by tanks and trucks mounted with machine guns in Khor Maksar, which lies on narrow neck of land linking central Aden with the mainland. Many people fled the area and some were trying to get on a ship leaving the port.
Earlier, dozens of fighters were killed in clashes between Houthi fighters and their Army allies on one side, and militiamen and tribesmen opposing them around Aden and elsewhere in south Yemen, witnesses and militia sources said.
One witness saw the bodies of eight Houthi fighters and three proHadi militiamen lying on the streets of Khor Maksar amid sporadic gunfire, as well as snipers mounting positions atop homes.
Dozens of civilians were reported dead Wednesday after a dairy plant was bombed in Yemen, as aid groups warned of a brewing humanitarian crisis from Saudi- led strikes on Shia rebels.
Yemeni foreign minister Riyadh Yassin called for the coalition to send ground troops, saying that “at some stage air strikes will be ineffective”.
Rights groups have voiced growing alarm about civilian casualties from the nearly week- old air war aimed at preventing the fall of Mr Hadi.
At least 37 workers were killed and 80 wounded overnight at the dairy in the port city of Hodeida.