Houthi militia sweeps south toward Aden in threat to president

Houthi rebel forces captured a key air base and appeared poised to seize the southern port city of Aden from defenders loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, local residents said on Wednesday. 

The Houthis and their military allies later advanced to within 60km (25 miles) of the city, where Hadi has been holed up since fleeing the group's stronghold in the capital Sanaa last month.

Yemeni officials have now denied reports that Hadi had fled Aden by helicopter. Sources have told AFP that he has been moved to a "safe location" but this could not be confirmed. 

The Houthis have now issued a $93,000 bounty for Hadi's capture.  

"The Houthis are moving incredibly fast, one hour ago they took control of al-Anad," a Yemeni official told Middle East Eye, referring to the base 60km north of Aden used by US military to train troops and launch attacks against al-Qaeda. "It seems they are unstoppable."

The Houthis also captured the city of al-Hawtah, the provincial capital of Yemen's southern state of Lahij, arresting Yemen's defence minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi, a key ally of Hadi who had been rallying so-called Popular Committees to fight for the embattled leader.

The Houthi militias - that traditionally hail from northern Yemen - as well as army units loyal to Yemen's powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh have driven back an array of tribal fighters, army units and southern separatist militiamen loyal to president Hadi. They are now within striking distance of Aden and the Bab al-Mandeab straight, a vital corridor through which much of the world’s maritime trade passes.

Intervention looming?

Hadi on Tuesday asked the UN Security Council to intervene militarily against the Houthis telling the UN to "shoulder its responsibilities and stop Yemen from sliding into more chaos and destruction". He had earlier also asked the GCC to provide assistance. 

As the situation intensified, Saudi Arabia began moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, US officials told Reuters on Tuesday, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening Yemeni conflict.

The slide toward war in Yemen has made the country a crucial front in Saudi Arabia's region-wide rivalry with Iran, which Riyadh accuses of sowing sectarian strife through its support for the Houthis.

But Yemen officials told MEE that Saudi intervention was unlikely. "It's too late," an official said by phone from Sanaa. "They will not back a president who does not have any popular support."