Houthi militia targeting Aden infrastructure: Saudi official

The Saudi-led coalition launching airstrikes against the Shiite Houthi militia in Yemen said Sunday that the group had targeted infrastructure and "terrorized civilians" in the flashpoint southern city of Aden.

Speaking at a press briefing in Riyadh, coalition spokesman Ahmed al-Asiri added that the Houthi militiamen attempted to dig tunnels on their country's border with Saudi Arabia with the aim of infiltrating into Saudi territory.

He asserted, however, that Saudi artillery and border guards were on highest alert.

"We have received information that Houthis had set up command centres in residential areas in Yemen," al-Asiri said.

He added that coalition warplanes had dropped "additional support" to armed supporters of embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in Aden.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday gave the International Committee Red Cross (ICRC) approval to bring vital medical supplies and aid workers into Yemen on Monday.

"We have received permission from the coalition for two planes now, one carrying supplies and one with staff," ICRC spokeswoman Sitara Jabeen told Reuters on Sunday.

Yemen's president Hadi fled to Aden in February from house arrest in Houthi-captured Sanaa in hopes of reinstating his embattled presidency from the southern city.

Hadi later fled to the Saudi capital Riyadh late last month after Houthi militants struck his Aden residence.

Since 26 March, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have been pounding Houthi positions across Yemen.

Riyadh says its anti-Houthi campaign comes in response to Hadi's appeals to "save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias."

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

Many accuse Iran of supporting Yemen's Houthi militia, a charge denied by the militiamen and Tehran.