Hadi forces advance in Aden ahead of truce

RIYADH: The latest developments in Yemen were the focus of a telephone conversation on Sunday between Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The deputy crown prince received the phone call from the president, SPA reported.
They also discussed the coalition’s efforts to support the legitimacy of Hadi’s government and to restore stability in Yemen.
Pro-government forces battled retreating rebels on the northern outskirts of Yemen’s second city Aden on Sunday ahead of a humanitarian truce declared by the Saudi-led coalition.
Troops loyal to President Hadi sought to tighten their control of the southern port city and surrounding areas ahead of the cease-fire.
But Houthi rebel leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi rejected the truce, according to a statement on a Twitter account believed to be managed by his group, saying it was aimed at allowing pro-government fighters to regroup.
And Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, “president of the High Committee of the Revolution,” in comments published by the rebel-controlled Saba news agency, said his group “had not been consulted by the UN” and could therefore not give a “negative or positive” answer about the truce.
Pro-Hadi Popular Resistance militiamen attacked the Houthis on the northern outskirts of Aden, forcing the rebels out of the Basateen and Jawala areas.
The loyalist forces have been bolstered by new weaponry and armored vehicles delivered by the coalition.
They also benefited from coalition air support, military sources said, adding that dozens of rebels were killed in the latest fighting.
Troops loyal to Hadi forced rebels out of the town of Sabr in Lahj province, Gen. Fadhel Hassan said.
Hassan said pro-Hadi troops had taken the town that links Aden to Huta, the provincial capital of Lahj, adding that Huta is the next target before reaching Al-Anad, the country’s largest airbase.