Yemen's Houthis make new gains in Aden amid Saudi raids
Iran Press TV
Sun Apr 5, 2015 10:7PM
The Ansarullah fighters of Yemen's Houthi movement have made fresh gains in the southern port city of Aden despite ongoing airstrikes by Saudi Arabia.
The revolutionaries reportedly advanced into the districts of Mualla and Qalwa'a in Aden on Sunday.
A local official, whose name was not mentioned in reports, confirmed the Ansarullah fighters' advance on Mualla, saying they captured the provincial government headquarters.
Mualla is claimed by militants loyal to fugitive Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is now in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The Ansarullah fighters also targeted a television station loyal to Hadi in Aden, forcing the station off the air.
They fired mortar rounds at the Aden TV building, which was 'damaged but there were no casualties,' a Yemeni official at the government-run channel told AFP.
The Houthis have been engaged in fierce clashes with al-Qaeda militants and the Hadi government remnants over the past two weeks.
Impacts of Saudi war in the region
Meanwhile, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian urged Saudi Arabia to stop its military assault against Yemen immediately.
"Those participating in the military attack against Yemen will be deemed responsible for insecurity in the region,' he said.
Aid controversy
A spokeswoman for the International Committee Red Cross (ICRC) said that the aid agency received approval from the Saudi-led coalition to dispatch medical supplies to Yemen.
'We have received permission from the coalition for two planes now, one carrying supplies and one with staff,' ICRC spokeswoman Sitara Jabeen said, expressing hope that the aircraft could land in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Monday.
The organization has been negotiating for almost a week to deliver life-saving supplies and equipment to the impoverished country.
The Al Saud regime unleashed its deadly air raids without a UN mandate against Yemen on March 26 in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Hadi, who is now in the Saudi capital, stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by the Houthi Ansarullah movement, but the Yemeni parliament did not approve his resignation.
Gradually, as the Yemeni government failed to provide security and properly run the affairs of the Arab country, the Ansarullah fighters started to take control of state matters to contain corruption and terror.
The Ansarullah fighters took control of Sana'a in September 2014 and are currently moving southward.
SSM/NT/AS
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