Houthi rebels and allies backed by tanks on Wednesday pushed into central Aden, the main foothold of fighters loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, witnesses said, despite more than a week of air strikes by Saudi-led coalition forces.
The alliance of mainly Sunni Gulf Arab states has also attacked the northern Shiite Houthis from the sea, but their advance toward the southern port city has been relentless.
Asked for his reaction, a Saudi military spokesman said Houthi forces had been in Aden before the alliance began its campaign on Thursday last week and had fought daily battles against the people of the city. Tanks appearing there had always been a possibility, he said, without elaborating.
The Houthis, with vital support from army units loyal to former president Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, emerged as the dominant force in Yemen after they took over the capital six months ago and they now control much of the nation.
Aden residents said they saw large groups of fighters carrying rocket-propelled grenades accompanied by tanks and trucks mounted with machine guns in the Khor Maksar district — part of a neck of land linking central Aden to the rest of the city.
Many people fled the area and some were trying to get on a ship leaving the port.
Earlier on Wednesday, 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 pro-Hadi militiamen lying on the streets of Khor Maksar amid sporadic gunfire, as well as snipers mounting positions atop homes.
Hadi left the city yesterday for Saudi Arabia, whose stated aim is to restore him to power.
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