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Two days of fighting leaves 56 people killed in Yemen's Aden

Xinhua, April 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least 56 people were killed and dozens injured during two days of fierce battles between Houthi gunmen and tribal militia linked to Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in the southern port city of Aden.

Naif Bakry, Aden's deputy governor, told Xinhua by phone saying that "the Houthi gunmen have been clashing with pro-Hadi tribal militiamen near Aden's seaport and the Fourth Regional Military Command for two days, leaving at least 56 people killed and dozens others injured."

"The people killed include civilians hit by random shelling and shooting in the areas of the clashes, as well as armed civilians who participate with pro-Hadi tribal militiamen," Bakry said.

The official added that "urgent humanitarian supplies are needed to relieve people as fighting expanding, which leaves many residents under severe shortages of livelihood needs."

Local residents said that the armed forces aligned with Houthis deployed on Monday several snipers and heavy armored tanks in an attempt to made progresses into Aden's main port located in Mu'alla district.

Several houses as well as state facilities were bombarded and set on fire as a result of random shootings and shellings on Monday, according to Aden's residents.

The Ministry of Health branch in Aden announced Sunday that up to 195 people were killed and about 1,300 injured during the fighting in recent days, mostly are civilians.

The Saudi-led coalition forces launched Monday morning several air strikes against military bases held by Houthis in Lahj and al-Dhalea southern provinces.

Local medical sources confirmed to Xinhua that dozens of people were killed in the the Saudi air bombings, without mentioning a specific number of the death toll.

The security situation in Yemen has sharply deteriorated since early March when conflicts erupted in several provinces in the country's southern regions.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia started late last month air strikes on Houthi targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and other cities, saying the multinational action is to protect President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's legitimacy and force the Houthis to retreat from cities they have seized since September 2014. Endit