Pro-Hadi Vigilantes Declare Control Of Yemen's Aden Airport

Vigilantes loyal to Yemen's embattled President ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi have announced that they are in full control of Aden airport as calm prevailed in the southern city following a night of clashes.



Sources with the vigilantes told The Anadolu Agency that its elements had expanded their control over the airport following clashes in its vicinity with Houthi militants.



The violence left 10 Houthis and six vigilantes dead, according to the source.



Meanwhile, calm prevailed in the city as clashes that erupted Saturday night between pro-Hadi vigilantes and Houthis came to an end.



According to eyewitnesses, an unspecified number of Houthis were killed in an ambush by the pro-Hadi vigilantes in Dar Saad district.



Having occupied capital Sanaa and sought to extend their influence in other Yemeni provinces, the Shiite Houthi group pitted itself against Sunni tribes and loyalists of the embattled president who has left for Saudi Arabia.



Several Arab states have joined a Saudi-led offensive which kicked off late Wednesday with a string of airstrikes against the positions of the Houthi group in Yemen, including some in capital Sanaa.



Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to calls by Hadi for military intervention to "save the people from the Houthi militias."



The Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.



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