ADEN/SANAA, Yemen
Fierce clashes have raged on into the early hours of Thursday in southern Yemen as Houthi militants and forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi fight for control of Aden city, eyewitnesses have said.
Eyewitnesses told the Anadolu Agency that both camps have used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades during confrontations in several districts in Aden.
Sources had told AA that pro-Hadi forces on Wednesday night had killed militants loyal to the Shiite Houthi militant group and allied former President Ali Abdullah Saleh during confrontations in parts of the key southern city.
According to the sources, pro-Hadi forces had destroyed three tanks which the Houthis had deployed during Wednesday night's clashes.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf-Arab allies launched a military offensive last week against Houthi positions in Yemen, prompting the Houthis to advance on the south in force.
President Hadi fled to Aden in late February after fleeing Houthi-held Sanaa in hopes of reinstating his embattled presidency from the southern city.
However, the Gulf-backed president fled again to Saudi capital Riyadh late last month after Houthi militants struck his Aden residence.
Riyadh says the anti-Houthi campaign was in response to appeals by Hadi to "save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias."
