Houthi fighters head toward Yemen's Aden to battle pro-president forces

Fierce battles erupted Tuesday between fighters of the Shiite Houthi group and tribal militia allied with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in the southern Lahj province of Yemen, a military official told Xinhua.

"The fierce fighting took place in Anad, Kerish village in Lahj province that leads to Aden where President Hadi currently lives," the official engaged in the fighting said on condition of anonymity, adding that the Houthi fighters attempted to seize an air base, about 15 km away from Kerish which is under control of the pro-Hadi army.

"About 12 Houthi gunmen were killed during two hours of fighting with the pro-Hadi militia and many were injured at northern entrance of the neighbouring al-Dhalea province," the military source said.

"The Houthi members arrived in al-Dhalea province wearing security uniforms and joined the 33th Armored Brigade aligned with the Shiite group. The tribal militia are now waging an offensive on the brigade," the source added.

A tribal leader told Xinhua by phone that the Shiite Houthi militants tried to advance with 30 armored vehicles in the Kerish village in the suburbs of Lahj province.

"The tribal militia supported by army units led by Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi tried to prevent the Houthis from reaching Aden. A number of fighters were killed from both sides," the tribal source said, adding that pro-Hadi militia forced the Houthis to retreat from the border areas between Lahj and Taiz province where the Houthi group deployed thousands of militants.

The Shiite Houthi group currently seized areas about 100 km away from Aden province, where Hadi stays.

In Taiz city, Yemen's third largest city and the provincial capital of Taiz province, eight anti-Houthi protesters were shot dead and about 84 others injured when gunmen affiliated with the Houthi group fired at a demonstration, witnesses said.

A few hours after the protesters were killed, governor of Taiz Shawqi Ahmed Hayel officially submitted his resignation in protest against the situation in the province, a government official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The governor of Taiz resigned because that all army and security forces aren't loyal to the province authorities, only listen to Houthi orders," the source based in Taiz said.

The Houthi group has deployed thousands of fighters to Taiz city and mobilized forces to the border with the neighboring southern Lahj province where troops supporting President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi have a large presence.

On Monday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi called for a mass military mobilization to restore security in the south, accusing Hadi and the Gulf Arab countries of destabilizing the country.

In late February, Hadi fled to Aden, the country's second biggest city in the south after weeks of house arrest by the Houthi group in the capital Sanaa, and stepped up confrontations with the Shia group who took over control of the capital in September last year.

In his first public speech after he arrived in Aden, Hadi said on Saturday that the Houthi group should withdraw from Sanaa and other provinces.

Yemen has been gripped by widespread violence in the southern regions since early this month, raising fears that the impoverished country is slipping into a civil war.

UN envoy Jamal Benomar who has been brokering negotiations in Yemen for the past three years left for the Gulf Arab countries on Saturday.

The impoverished country mired in political gridlock in 2011 when mass protests forced former president Ali Abdullash Saleh to step down. The three-year reconciliation talks failed to resolve the crisis but created a huge power vacuum that could benefit the powerful Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups. Endit