Yemeni leader flees to Saudi as airstrikes continue

Saudi Arabia's military have said they will continue their airstrikes on Yemen until Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is able to rule.

Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told reporters on Sunday evening that the military intended to keep up attacks until they could "set the conditions necessary to allow the president and his government to run the country."

He said: "We will continue to attack the militias, we will keep them under pressure, until the conditions become very favourable for the army to take over."

Fighting in Yemen continued today as fighters loyal to the country's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi clashed with Houthi fighters in downtown Aden.

Seen as the leader's last major foothold in the country, Aden has been hit by heavy fighting for the last week and control of the southern port city's airport is said to have changed hands numerous times during the ongoing conflict.

Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen killed 35 people and wounded 88 overnight, an official in the Houthi-controlled health ministry told the official military news service.

The victims "fell during the Saudi aggression on Yemen in the provinces of Sanaa, Saada and Hodeidah," director of medical emergencies Ali Saree told the outlet, without mentioning if they were civilians or soldiers.

Saudi-led air forces struck a convoy of Yemeni Houthi fighters advancing on Aden from the east on Saturday, residents said, and the Saudi navy evacuated diplomats from the southern port city.

The Iranian-allied Shi'ite Muslim Houthi fighters, seeking to overthrow the Western- and Saudi-allied President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, have continued to make gains since the Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against them early on Thursday.

On Friday, the Houthis and allied army units gained their first foothold on Yemen's Arabian Sea coast by seizing the port of Shaqra, 100km (60 miles) east of Aden, allowing them to open a new front to march on the south's main city.

The United Nations has evacuated its staff from Yemini capital Sanaa due to the security situation, according to a UN source.

The source said the staff, numbering more than 100, were heading to the airport and were expected to relocate to several countries including Jordan.

United Nations Special envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar was due to join UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the annual Arab summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the source added.

An operation to evacuate dozens of Saudi and foreign diplomats from the southern Yemeni port city of Aden was launched by Saudi Arabia's navy, according to state television

"The Saudi Royal Navy implemented an operation called Hurricane to evacuate dozens of diplomats, including Saudis, from Aden," the broadcaster said.

Yemen's Houthi rebels made broad gains in the country's south and east on Friday despite a second day of Saudi-led air strikes m

War planes attacked Yemen's capital Sanaa through the night until dawn, residents of the city told Reuters.

"There were planes strikes all through the night and stopped at dawn," said a resident in Sanaa, adding that explosions were heard in an area west of the capital were a government national guard base was located.

There was no detail on whether the planes belonged to the Saudi-led coalition which has launched attacks against Yemen's Shiite Houthi group in support of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

The US military rescued two Saudi pilots who ejected from their F-15 fighter jet over the Gulf of Aden, according to a US defence official.

He said the two were rescued in international waters by a helicopter from Djibouti after Saudi Arabia requested assistance.

Video released by the Saudi Press Agency show the view from Saudi military jets as they bomb Yemen's Rahaba Airport in Sanaa. The video was filmed today, the Saudi Press Agency said.

Warplanes continue to hit Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital and the Shi'ite Muslim group's northern heartland, in the second day of Saudi-led airstrikes.

The Saudi-led intervention is an attempt to roll back Houthi gains and shore up the authority of embattled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Yemen's President Adb-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has fled to Saudi Arabia as Houthi rebels continued their battle with his forces on the outskirts of the southern port city of Aden where he was staying.

Residents endured a second night of airstrikes from Saudi Arabia and Arab allies, who struck a number of Shi'ite Houthis and allied army units.

It is unclear whether Hadi will be able to return to Aden, as Houthis and allied troops fought gun battles with militiamen loyal to Hadi.

Pro-Hadi fighters have retaken the airport from Houthi forces, the latest reports said, but it remains closed.