Ansarullah fighters seize key airbase in south Yemen

Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement have seized a key military airbase in the southern province of Lahij.

"The Huthis took control of al-Anad airbase" after engaging in "limited clashes" with forces loyal to Yemen’s resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, an unnamed Yemeni official told AFP on Wednesday.

The airbase is located just 60 kilometers from the port city of Aden from where Hadi has just fled.

The United States used the Anad airbase to launch drone strikes against the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Some 100 US soldiers, including Special Forces commandos, evacuated the base last week after al-Qaeda militants captured a nearby town.

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On Sunday, the Ansarullah fighters had managed to take control of the southwestern Yemeni city of Ta'izz, a strategic city between the capital, Sana’a, and Aden.

Meanwhile, reports said that the former Yemeni defense minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi, was captured by Houthis in Huta, the capital city of Lahij province.

Hadi has also reportedly escaped from Aden to an unknown place as Ansarullah forces entered the city.

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The photo shows Yemen’s resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, (L) and his defense minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi. © AFP


The new developments came a day after Yemen’s resigned president urged the United Nations Security Council to authorize military action in the strife-torn country against Ansarullah revolutionaries.

On Monday, Hadi had also called on Persian Gulf Arab countries to intervene militarily in Yemen.

Following the call, Saudi Arabia moved heavy military equipment, including artillery, to areas near its border with Yemen.

In late January, Hadi, along with the cabinet of Premier Khaled Bahah, stepped down over pressure from the Ansarullah revolutionaries, but the Yemeni parliament did not approve their resignation.

Hadi fled his home in the capital Sana’a on February 21 after weeks under effective house arrest and went to Aden, Yemen’s second largest city, where he officially withdrew his resignation and highlighted his intention to resume duties.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/03...-base-in-Lahij

Aftermath of AL-Qaeda terror attack

Photos:
http://farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=13940103000159


Yemen terrorist attack , wounded transferred to Iran

Photos:
http://farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=13940103000240

S Arabia engaged in military buildup near border with Yemeni


US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has engaged in deploying military equipment, including artillery, to the troubled region.

Latest media reports say Washington has acquired intelligence about the Saudi buildup. One US government source has described the size of the Saudi buildup on Yemen's border as “significant.”

The developments come as Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has reportedly been ordered to erect a military base immediately along the border.

The source says the Saudis could be preparing air raids to defend resigned former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi if Ansarullah fighters known as Houthis attack his refuge in the southern seaport of Aden.

Meanwhile, Hadi has asked the UN Security Council (UNSC) to authorize military intervention in the strife-torn country to help him in the fight against the Houthi revolutionaries. He has also sought military help from the [Persian] Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (An incomplete reference was completed) ([P]PGCC (An incomplete acronym was completed: PGCC)) and the Arab League.


on February 21, Hadi fled to Aden and withdrew his resignation triggering a political turmoil in the Arab country. He is now trying to seize back power with the help of the West and neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The move comes as Yemen's Houthi fighters have been fighting al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in the crisis-hit country.

On March 12, Yemen’s Houthi movement staged a military drill in the city of Kitaf in the province of Sa’ada, along the border with Saudi Arabia.

According to reports, thousands of members of the Houthi movement participated in the drill, in which artillery, rockets, and other weapons were used.

A Houthi media official said the drill was not meant to “pose a threat to anyone.”

The military drill came as Saudi Arabia approved Hadi’s proposed plan to hold the country’s national dialogue in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, instead of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, which is currently under the control of the Houthis.

The Houthi movement strongly condemned the Saudi measure, unequivocally refusing to participate in the talks.

on March 22, fighters of Ansarullah movement captured the southwestern city of Ta'izz, a strategic city between the capital, Sana’a, and Aden.

The Houthi fighters and their allies seized the city's airport and several state facilities after defeating forces loyal to Hadi.

The Ansarullah fighters took control of the capital in September 2014 and are currently trying to advance toward Aden.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/03...ent-near-Yemen

Yemen's Houthis advance towards Aden

Senior officials dispute claims that President Hadi has fled and his military leaders are under arrest in southern city.
25 Mar 2015 10:25 GMT


Reports from Yemen say President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his top military commander are on the run while other military leaders, including the defence minister, are under arrest after Shia Houthi fighters entered the southern city of Aden.

However, two senior Yemeni officials including the head of national security have told Reuters news agency that Hadi remains in Aden and has no plans to leave.
Asked on Wednesday if Hadi was in Aden, Major-General Ali al-Ahmadi, chief of national security, told Reuters: "He's here, he's here, he's here. I am now with him in the palace. He is in Aden."
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports.

The developments came just hours after a television station said Houthi fighters and their allies had seized an airbase where US troops and Europeans helped the country in its fight against al-Qaeda.
The Al-Masirah TV station reported that the Houthis had "secured'' the al-Annad airbase, and claimed the base had been looted by both al-Qaeda fighters and troops loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
That airbase is only 60km away from Aden, the port city where President Abd- Rabbu Mansour Hadi had established a temporary capital.

Witnesses said they saw a convoy of presidential vehicles leaving Hadi's palace, located at the top of a hill in Aden overlooking the Arabian Sea, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The advance of the Shia fighters, known as Houthis, threatens to plunge the Arab world's poorest country into a civil war that could draw in its Gulf neighbours. Already, Hadi has asked the UN to authorise a foreign military intervention in the country.

Saud Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, had previously warned that his country would take "necessary measures" if the Houthis did not resolve the crisis peacefully, without elaborating further.
Diplomatic missions of Hadi's Persian gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait, have evacuated their diplomatic staff from Aden over the past few days, officials said.
They earlier evacuated from Sanaa and relocated to Aden to support Hadi.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/0...092352502.html

Hadi Flees As Yemen Army Enters Gulf of Aden, Restores Houta

Yemeni army, supported by the popular Committees, have entered on Wednesday morning the city of Aden from several directions, seizing control over most of the area and reaching the Gulf of Aden from Shebwa.

It also restored the Houta city, capital of Lahj province, from al-Qaeda and militia operatives.

The latest developments in Yemen followed various victories the army achieved against the armed militiamen loyal to the Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi.

Hadi was the transitional President in Yemen who fled Sanaa to Aden after submitting resignation in January, where he tried to establish a rival cabinet, igniting civil war in the country and mobilizing armed militiamen against the national military.

Former Defense Minister, Gen. Mahmoud Soubeihi, has been arrested and transferred to Sanaa. Soubeihi was leading in person the latest battles against the army across Yemen.

Nasser Hadi, Hadi's brother has been also arrested. He used to manage operations carried out by Had's militia group.

Moreover, the army detained Gen. Faisal Rajab, head of Infantry Brigade 119, along with Gen. Fadl Hassan, a former DM official.

Media reports stated that Hadi's faith is still unknown, underlying that the Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates have evacuated their diplomatic delegation from the country until further notice.

The United Nations urged on Monday unity in Yemen after Hadi called for international military intervention under Chapter 7.

Hadi has been trying to cement his power base in Aden in an attempt to ignite civil war in the country, after he toppled the national partnership agreement signed by various political parties.

Ansarullah group, also dubbed as Houthis, has liberated the capital Sanaa from al-Qaeda operatives last September, and worked to restore security and stability in the attack-hit areas.

The powerful group issued the Constitutional Declaration, in a bid to avoid the power vacuum in the country following the resignation of Hadi and his prime minister.
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Iranian Ship Unloads 185 Tons of Weapons, Military Equipment for Houthis in Yemen




An Iranian ship unloaded 185 tons of weapons and military equipment at a Houthi-controlled al-Saleef port in Yemen, al Arabiya reports.

The Houthi militias reportedly closed the port and denied entrance to employees there. Al-Saleef port is considered the second most vital in Yemen.

The news follows last week’s economic partnership agreements between Iran and the Houthis, including a deal that promises a year’s worth of oil supply from Iran.

Iran has also agreed to provide Yemen with a 200 megawatt power plant, according to Yemeni news agency Saba.

Yemen is torn by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in the north, and the internationally-recognized President Abedrabbu Mansorur Hadi, who has set up a rival seat in the south with the backing of Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.

Iranian Ship Unloads 185 Tons of Weapons, Military Equipment for Houthis in Yemen | Washington Free Beacon

http://freebeacon.com/national-secur...this-in-yemen/

US State Department Announces Military Staff Pullout From Yemen

US State Department has announced that the United States is evacuating its entire military personnel from a key airbase in Yemen following an upsurge in violence in the conflict-torn country.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States is evacuating its entire military personnel from a key airbase in Yemen following an upsurge in violence in the conflict-torn country, the US State Department has announced.

"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the U.S. Government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a Saturday statement.

The State Department stressed that there is "no military solution to Yemen's current crisis" and called for an "immediate" cessation of armed hostilities in the country.

Earlier on Saturday, the UN Security Council announced a decision to hold an emergency meeting on Yemen on Sunday afternoon, a move which came one day after Islamic State (ISIL) militants carried out a series of attacks in Yemen's capital Sanaa and the northern city of Saada.

On Friday, suicide bombers took the lives of at least 150 people in two Sanaa mosques. In Saada, over 30 people were killed in attacks.

Sanaa is currently controlled by the Ansar Allah Houthi rebel group. In late January, Houthi rebels seized the presidential palace and government buildings forcing Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the country's government to resign.

On February 11, the United States suspended the work of the US Embassy in Sanaa and issued a travel warning for its citizens, citing ongoing terrorist activities and civil unrest in Yemen.

Later that same month, Hadi escaped house arrest, fled to the southern port city of Aden and withdrew his resignation.

On Thursday, Houthis launched airstrikes on the presidential palace in Aden. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks in its Friday statement, stressing that Hadi is the sole legitimate authority in Yemen and urging all sides in the Yemeni conflict to refrain from the use of military force.

The US State Department also stressed in its Saturday statement that President Hadi is the legitimate authority in Yemen and called on Houthi rebels to stop violent incitement which threatens Hadi, Yemeni government officials and innocent civilians in the country.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/2015...#ixzz3V6hyqUuC

BREAKING: Officials tell AP that Yemen's president has left the country by sea, on a boat from Aden.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/AP/status/580762788991238144

Saudi Arabia is fast becoming between the rock and the hard place if the UAE goes it'll be game over .

Saudi warplanes bomb Houthi positions in Yemen



Warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombed the positions of Yemen’s Houthi militia and destroyed most of their air defenses, Al Arabiya News Channel reported early on Thursday.

Arab Gulf states had announced that they have decided to “repel Houthi aggression” in neighboring Yemen, following a request from the country’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

In their joint statement Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait said they "decided to repel Houthi militias, al-Qaeda and ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] in the country.”

The Gulf states warned that the Houthi coup in Yemen represented a “major threat” to the region’s stability.

It also accused the Iranian-backed militia of conducting military drills on the border of Saudi Arabia, a leading member of the GCC, with “heavy weapons.”

In an apparent reference to Iran, the statement said the “Houthi militia is backed by regional powers in order for it be their base of influence.”

The Gulf states said they had monitored the situation and the Houthi coup in Yemen with “great pain” and accused the Shiite militia of failing to respond to warnings from the United Nations Security Council as well as the GCC.

The statement stressed that the Arab states had sought over the previous period to restore stability in Yemen, noting the last initiative to host peace talks under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In a letter sent the U.N. Security Council and seen by Al Arabiya News, Hadi requested “immediate support for the legitimate authority with all means and necessary measures to protect Yemen and repel the aggression of the Houthi militia that is expected at any time on the city of Aden and the province of Taiz, Marib, al-Jouf [and] an-Baidah."

In his letter Hadi said such support was also needed to control “the missile capability that was looted” by the Houthi militias.

Hadi also told the Council that he had requested from the Arab Gulf states and the Arab League “immediate support with all means and necessary measures, including the military intervention to protect Yemen and its people from the ongoing Houthi aggression.”


http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New....tatement-.html