2nd LD: Hadi remains in Aden after dogfight with Houthi group

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi remained in the southern port city of Aden Wednesday after his tribal militia were defeated by the Shiite Houthi group in Lahj province, a source at the presidential office told Xinhua.

President Hadi is still in Aden to command his forces to fight against the Houthi group, the source told Xinhua report on condition of anonymity.

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 said.

They are advancing into Lahj's central regions, about 50 km away from Aden province, where Hadi stays, the official added.

A senior Houthi member told Xinhua that the group has arrested Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi in Lahj province who has been commanding most of the pro-Hadi army to battle the Houthis.

Chaos was spread in Aden city as the Houthi fighters were approaching, according to Xinhua report, and all foreign missions in the city were closed and diplomatic staff were evacuated by plane.

The defense ministry in the capital Sanaa which is under control of the Houthi group released a message that announced a 20,000,000 riyals (about 93000 U.S. dollars) reward for information leading to arrest Hadi.

On Tuesday, fierce battles erupted between fighters of the Shiite Houthi group and pro-Hadi tribal militia in the border areas between the 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.

However after almost two days of fighting, most of the army troops in Lahj province have surrendered to the Houthi group.

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.

Hadi fled to Aden, the country's second biggest city on 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.

U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar brief the U.N. 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 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 create huge power vacuum that could benefit the powerful al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups.

On Friday, the Islamic State that seized large territories in Iraq and Syria claimed responsibility for suicide bombings against the Houthi group in Yemen on Friday that killed at least 154 people and wounded 350 others, including two suicide bombings at two mosques in Sanaa during Friday prayers, in Yemen's deadliest sectarian attacks. Enditem