Yemen rebels close in on Aden

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© Stringer, EPA
Houthi rebels and allied military units closed in on beleaguered President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi's temporary capital at Aden, seizing a key military base only 50 kilometres north of the port city, officials said Wednesday.
Local officials said that the mainly Shiite rebels, along with military units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, took control overnight of the Anad air base on the main road to Aden, reports dpa.
Hadi has been seeking to re-establish his rule from the southern city after fleeing house arrest in the Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a.
Houthi television said that Defence Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi had been "detained" while leading militias against army bases.
Dpa was not immediately able to confirm that claim.
Al-Subaihi, who recently joined the president in Yemen, was reported Tuesday to have been leading Hadi loyalists against the advancing Houthis.
At noon local time (900 GMT) local newspaper Aden al-Ghad reported clashes between southern militias and pro-Houthi military units another 15 kilometres along the road to Aden.
Houthi fighters and allied military units on Tuesday crossed into formerly independent southern Yemen at two points, clashing with militias loyal to Hadi, a native of the south.
Anad air base was a centre for US special forces operations against al-Qaeda militants in Yemen. The forces were reportedly evacuated on Saturday.
The Houthis, who say they are seeking to root out corruption and extremism, seized Sana'a in September and now control most of northern Yemen.
Elite military units loyal to Saleh, who was forced to step down after a popular uprising in 2011, have played a key role in their recent advances towards the centre and south of the country.
Al-Qaeda has repeatedly targeted the Houthis since the fall of Sana'a, leading to fears that the rebel advance into Sunni areas of central and southern Yemen may play into the hands of the jihadists.
The United Nations has condemned Saleh as well as two Houthi military commanders for impeding the country's internationally backed transition plan.          

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