Sources in Yemen’s government confirmed the move, though there has been no official announcement, and Yemen’s exiled information minister said on Tuesday that commercial flights would be diverted from the capital to the southern port of Aden.
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All of the above is reflective of the US’ confused policy in West Asia – where it is fighting Sunni rebels allied to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, but aiding Sunni forces against Shia militias in Yemen.
Overnight fighting in Taiz, meanwhile, has reportedly left 33 Houthis and 12 pro-government fighters dead, with another 38 injured.
“They are selling oil and flour that has a “not for sale” on it in the street, ” said Shahir al-Araj, a resident of Aden’s most populous neighborhood, al-Shiekh Othman.
However, the Houthis have continued losing out in the south despite their assurances that they are regrouping to fight back. When the escalation finally took place, it fell on deaf ears. “The needs are massive and way beyond the capacity of aid organizations now on the ground”, he said, adding that the worldwide community’s response to the crisis has fallen short.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia began its military aggression against Yemen – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, an ally of Riyadh.
The southern fighters also battled Houthi forces on Monday in the southern province of Abyan, ejecting them from the last large city in the area, Lawdar.
Yemeni security officials have said that Saudi, Emirati, Egyptian and Jordanian military advisers are training hundreds of fighters at a military base near the port of Aden.
Yemen’s deputy parliament speaker, Maj.
Hadi and other members of the government fled to Aden but were forced into exile in Saudi Arabia in February.
Aden had been the final refuge for Hadi’s government, which was driven out of the capital Sanaa by the Houthi rebels last September.
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Anti-Houthi forces continued to make gains on Thursday, fully surrounding the provincial capital of Lahej province, Zinjibar, north-east of Aden and massing their forces before an expected push toward the central city of Taez.
