Off the wire
• Chinese Super League soccer standings  • Chinese Super League soccer results  • Health chief vows more trained family doctors  • Party paper hails HK Basic Law  • Russia sticks to consistent anti-corruption policy: Kremlin  • Iran says committed to promises in nuclear talks  • OSCE warns of "humanitarian catastrophe" in eastern Ukraine  • Russia takes Far East development as priority: Putin  • Three Chinese local officials under graft probe  • Israel says framework deal with Iran may brew nuclear risk  
You are here: 　 Home

Saudi-led coalition air-drops weapon supplies to pro-Hadi militia in Yemen

Xinhua, April 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Military aircrafts of the Saudi-led coalition forces dropped a load of weapons and equipment to the tribal militia allied with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in the southern port city of Aden on Friday, a military official told Xinhua.

According to the official who was with pro-Hadi tribal militia, "the military warplanes successfully dropped a load of weapons and equipment as well as medicines supplies to the paramilitary forces battling the Shiite Houthi gunmen in Aden."

"All the dropped weapons that were composed of medium and modern equipment arrived into the hands of pro-Hadi forces and there is a fierce fighting ongoing in several areas of Aden," the military source said.

However, sources in the city said some weapons were taken by the Houthis during street battles.

On Thursday night, the Saudi-led coalition forces launched an air strike on several military sites manned by Houthi gunmen inside Aden, including Aden's International Airport.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the air bombing, but material damages only, according to local Yemeni sources.

The Shiite Houthi gunmen backed by security forces advanced Thursday in several fronts inside Aden and took full control over the Hadi's presidential palace after intense fighting.

Elsewhere in Yemen, scores of well-armed al-Qaida gunmen were deployed Friday in and around the coastal city of Mukalla, Hadramout's provincial capital, a day after they freed more than 300 prisoners.

Security sharply deteriorated in Yemen since early March when conflicts erupted in several provinces in the country's southern regions.

The Shiite Houthi group launched attacks on Aden city, which Hadi declared as the temporary capital after he fled weeks of house arrest by the Houthis in Sanaa.

Last week, a Saudi-led coalition started airstrikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa and other cities, saying the multinational action was to protect Hadi's legitimacy and force the Houthis to retreat from cities it seized since September 2014. Endit