Hadi walks at Aden airport upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia yesterday.

President Hadi returns from exile as his troops and allies in a Saudi-led coalition press one of their most important offensives yet against the Houthi rebels

Agencies
Aden


Yemen’s exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi returned to the southern port city of Aden yesterday to rally forces loyal to him in the country’s civil war and oversee a campaign to retake the city of Taez, a presidency official said.
Hadi’s loyalists made advances amid heavy fighting in the southwestern province surrounding the city which killed around 45 fighters from both sides on Monday, medical sources said.
“Twenty-five pro-Hadi fighters were killed in an ambush laid for them by Houthi and Saleh forces at the Bab al-Mandeb, and 20 Houthi fighters were killed in fighting and coalition air strikes,” a medic said by telephone from Taez.
Residents said Arab warplanes had bombed Houthi militia targets in the city dozens of times yesterday.
At least 5,700 Yemenis have been killed during seven months in a civil war that has pitted supporters of the exiled government, backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, against forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Houthi militia allied to Iran.
It was not immediately clear how long Hadi would stay in the country, his second return to Aden since the coalition retook the port city in July, or whether his visit would herald the permanent return of his exiled administration from the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Mukhtar al-Rahbi, an official in Yemen’s presidency, said Hadi had arrived in Aden to oversee the campaign to retake Taez, which has been battered by fighting. Medics in the city say more than 1,600 people have died there.
“He will also meet with military officials to assess the security situation and to oversee the merging of the resistance forces into the army and security forces,” al-Rahbi said.
The coalition has made some progress on the battlefield and took control of Aden in July, but the Houthis still retain control of much of Yemen, despite almost daily air bombardment.      
The coalition sent ground troops to Yemen in early August after months of air strikes.
It has deployed significant reinforcements for the advance on Taez, Yemen’s third city, military officials have said.
Taez has seen heavy fighting in recent months between pro-government forces and the Houthi Shia rebels and their allies.
There are loyalist troops inside the city but they are besieged by the rebels.
Pro-Hadi forces and their coalition allies pushed north towards Taez overnight, capturing the village of Waziaa, southwest of the city, military sources said.
The rebel-controlled Saba news agency had said on Monday that the insurgents repelled attempts to advance on four fronts towards Waziaa.
Further south, pro-Hadi fighters advanced towards Rahida, the province’s second-largest city, following fierce clashes at nearby Shuraija, a military source said.
Loyalist forces deployed in Dhubab advanced towards the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, an army officer said. “They are 30km away from Mocha,” he said.   
A 400-strong Sudanese force arrived in Aden this month in support of loyalist forces, joining 500 who arrived in October.  
Sudanese forces from the strategic Al Anad airbase in Lahj were taking part in the Taez operations, sources said on Monday.
The fighting has thrown into question UN-brokered peace talks that had been planned for later this month.
A UN bid to launch peace talks in June failed over demands for a rebel withdrawal from seized territory, but this time, much effort has been put into ensuring there is agreement in advance on the agenda.