Arab Coalition in Yemen Stops Rebel Advance on Aden – Military Official

A spokesman of the joint operations command said that the Saudi-led coalition in charge of the military operation in Yemen stopped the advance of Houthi rebel forces on the southern port city of Aden.

MANAMA (Sputnik) — The Saudi-led coalition in charge of the military operation in Yemen stopped the advance of Houthi rebel forces on the southern port city of Aden, the stronghold of the ousted president's loyalists, a spokesman of the joint operations command said Monday.

"We have blocked Houthis in Yemeni ports and interrupted Houthi advance on Aden and the Saudi border," Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said in a televised press conference.

Asiri said the 10-nation coalition of Arab countries was going to drop more bombs on the militants to stop their push into Aden's suburbs. He also pledged that the command will be more careful about picking targets, to avoid collateral damage to the civilian population.

"At this point, our objective is to pinpoint the location of ballistic missiles and destroy them," the military official said.

The coalition began first air raids against rebel positions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and its suburbs on Wednesday, at request of the country's deposed leader Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. The campaign aims to roll back Shiite Houthi insurgency that fared up across Yemen after massive protests against the government in August 2014.