ADEN, Yemen
Vigilantes loyal to Yemen's embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi on Friday declared an indefinite nighttime curfew in the southern city of Aden.
"The curfew will extend from 7pm [4pm GMT] to 7am [4am GMT] the following day, and will come into effect Friday night," a vigilante committee in Aden said in a statement.
The committee cited "clashes between vigilantes, gunmen and army units against militants of the Shiite Houthi movement in the some areas of the city" since last Wednesday as the reason announcing the curfew.
The vigilante committee urged citizens in Aden to heed the curfew for the sake of their own safety.
Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies launched a military offensive, including airstrikes, against Houthi positions in Yemen on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to calls by Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to "save the people from the Houthi militias."
Fractious Yemen descended into violence last September, when the Shiite militants overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country as well.
Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.
