ADEN, Yemen
Troops loyal to the Shiite Houthi group have almost established control over the presidential palace in Crater, a southeastern district of Yemen's southern Aden province, Houthi sources and witnesses said Thursday.
The Houthis have almost taken control of the entrance to the presidential palace, a Houthi source told the pro-Houthi Al-Massira television channel.
The Anadolu Agency could not independently verify the claim.
Explosions, meanwhile, continued to be heard across Aden.
Witnesses said pro-Houthi troops were about to capture the presidential palace after clashing with troops loyal to embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in central Aden.
Around 20 civilians were killed when the Houthis shelled residential districts in Aden.
The Houthis have been the target of a Saudi-led military campaign for the last eight days.
Riyadh says the campaign is in response to Hadi's appeals to "save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias."
Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the fractious country.
Some Gulf States accuse Shiite Iran of supporting Yemen's Houthi insurgency.
