1st LD: Houthi gunmen seize military air base in southern Yemen

The Shiite Houthi fighters backed by security forces advanced in Yemen's south and took control over a strategic military air base in the southern province of Lahj early on Wednesday, a military official told Xinhua.

According to the military official near the scene, the Houthi fighters stormed Anad military air base and fully controlled the entrances.

The Houthi gunmen are attempting to advance into Lahj's central region, about 50 km away from Aden province, where President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi stays, the source added.

A tribal source told Xinhua by phone that "the Houthi gunmen looted all medium and heavy weapons in the Anad air base."

The United States on Sunday announced the evacuation of its last remaining military forces from the Anad air base due to the security situation.

Meanwhile, a source close to Hadi told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "the president is heading toward the Anad air base to visit his forces who are fighting Houthis there."

On Tuesday, fierce battles erupted between fighters of the Shiite Houthi group and pro-Hadi tribal militia in border areas between Taiz province, where the Houthi group have deployed thousands of fighters in the past three days, and Lahj province where troops supporting 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 countries of destabilizing the country.

The situation is stalemated and tension raises fear that the country will witness an all-out war between the north and the south.

Hadi fled to Aden, the country's second biggest city in the south of Lahj province, in late February after weeks of house arrest by the Houthi group in the capital Sanaa, and stepped up confrontations with the Houthis 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.

He slashed on the air raid on his residence in the port city last week, calling on the army and security forces to be committed to the presidency. The actions of the Houthi militia "prompted our armed forces to deal with it," Hadi said.

UN envoy Jamal Benomar brief the UN security council on Sunday that Yemen is on "rapid downward spiral" and current events "are leading the country away from political settlement and to the edge of civil war."

The impoverished country has been mired in political gridlock since 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 huge power vacuum that could benefit the powerful al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups. Endit