Yemen's Aden shuts airport and main entrances in support of president

The Supreme Security Committee in Yemen's southern port city of Aden announced Wednesday that the city's seaport and international airport are closed in support of Yemeni president.

"Due to the dangerous military development in the capital Sanaa, the supreme security authorities in Aden decided to shut Aden's international airport along with the seaport," the committee said in a statement obtained by Xinhua.

"We strongly condemn Shiite Houthi militia's seizing of the presidential compound and attacks on the symbol of the national sovereignty and constitutional legitimacy, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi," the statement said.

All of the city's main entrances were closed at the same time in protest against the repeated armed attacks on Hadi's residential buildings in Sanaa, according to the statement.

The Shiite Houthi fighters controlled al-Nahdayn mountain on Monday afternoon, which overlooks the presidential palace, which President Hadi does not live in.

On Tuesday, the Shiite Houthi group seized the presidential palace one day after it signed a ceasefire deal with the Yemeni government that ended deadly clashes.

The Houthi group, based in the northern province of Saada, has been expanding influence southward after signing a UN-sponsored peace and power-sharing deal on Sept. 21, 2014.

The deal put an end to week-long deadly clashes and also empowered the Houthi rebels to play an important role in the government. Endit