Anti-Houthi Military Council Formed İn Yemen's Taizz

Some military leaders backing embattled President ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi on Wednesday formed a military council in the southwestern province of Taizz.



They said in a statement that the council was formed with the aim of organizing resistance [against the Shiite Houthi militant group] and coordinating with what they called the "legitimate" leadership of Yemen.



Pro-Hadi militants have been locked in confrontations with Houthi militants and the supporters of ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Taizz for several weeks now.



Fractious Yemen has remained in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they have since sought to extend their influence southwards to other parts of the country.



On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive military campaign targeting Houthi positions across Yemen.



Riyadh says its air campaign comes in response to Hadi's appeals for military intervention against the Houthis.



Hadi, who is backed by the Sunni-majority Gulf States, fled to Riyadh in March after Houthi forces attacked his residence in the southern port city of Aden, from which he had hoped to reinstate his embattled presidency.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Sana