Houthis using Yemenis as 'human shields': Saudi official

A spokesman for a Saudi-led, anti-Houthi coalition said on Friday that Shiite Houthi militants were using civilians as "human shields."

Coalition forces "are doing everything possible to halt the Houthi advance on [the southern city of] Aden," Saudi commander Ahmed al-Asiri said at a press conference held on an airbase in Saudi capital Riyadh.

Al-Asiri urged Yemeni civilians to steer clear of Houthi sites and positions, claiming that Houthi militants were using them as "human shields."

"Our first priority is the safety of Yemeni civilians, which is why we're urging them to avoid Houthi militant concentrations," he said.

Riyadh said the strikes were in response to calls by embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to "save the people [of Yemen] from the Houthi militias."

At least 39 civilians have been killed in the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm against the Houthis and their allies, officials at the rebel-controlled health ministry in Sanaa said.