ADEN: Yemen’s leader was rushed to a “secure location” on Wednesday as rebel forces bore down on his southern stronghold and a warplane attacked his presidential complex, prompting pleas for urgent intervention. The escalating turmoil has stoked fears that Yemen — a front line in the US battle against al-Qaeda — is teetering on the brink of all-out civil war. A top aide of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said the Western-backed leader had been taken to a safe haven “within Aden”, the southern port city where he fled last month. Earlier a source in the presidential guard said that Hadi had flown overseas, but the aide denied he had left the country. Yemen has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Huthi rebels launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February. The strife has raised fears that the country could be torn apart by a proxy war between Iran, accused of backing the rebels, and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which supports Hadi. In a major blow to the embattled leader, the Huthis said they had captured his defence minister in their push southwards. Several missiles were fired by an unidentified warplane at Hadi’s complex in Aden but missed his residence and hit an abandoned building, a presidential security official said. Large crowds of Aden residents could be seen running to take up arms at a weapons depot in preparation for the expected rebel advance, an AFP photographer said. As the security situation worsened, Aden’s international airport suspended operations. A Yemeni army brigade linked to rebels seized Aden’s airport on Wednesday as anti-government fighters advanced on the southern city where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has taken refuge, witnesses said. They said 39th armoured brigade soldiers posted near the airport had taken control of the facility, after switching allegiance to side with the rebels. The rebels’ television channel, Al-Massira, also said the army unit had “secured the airport” Hadi appealed to the UN Security Council on Tuesday to “shoulder its responsibilities... to safeguard Yemen from sliding into more chaos and destruction.” His plea followed a warning from UN envoy Jamal Benomar that Yemen was sliding towards a “civil war”. Rebel forces seized a key airbase just 50-km north of Aden on Wednesday, days after US military personnel were evacuated from the site. Yemen has allowed Washington to wage a long-standing drone war against al-Qaeda militants in the impoverished country, which borders oil-rich Saudi Arabia and lies close to key shipping routes. The Huthis took control of Al-Anad airbase following “limited clashes” with forces loyal to Hadi, an official told AFP. Rebel forces advanced deep into Lahj province, which is adjacent to Aden and where the rebels said they had seized Hadi’s defence minister, General Mahmud al-Subaihi. Subaihi escaped house arrest at the hands of the Huthis in Sanaa this month. He had been seen as a vital ally of Hadi in charge of organising defence lines aimed at averting the fall of Aden. Dozens of people have been killed as the Huthi militia, backed by troops allied to former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, have clashed with pro-Hadi forces as they push southwards. Saleh, who resigned in 2012 following nationwide protests, has been accused of backing the Shiite rebels as he seeks to regain influence. Yemen is increasingly divided between a north controlled by the Huthis and a south dominated by Hadi supporters.
