ADEN: Senior members of Yemen’s exiled administration flew into Aden on Thursday to make preparations for the government’s return, an official said.

The visit by ministers and intelligence officials follows military setbacks for the Houthis at the hands of Saudi-backed Yemeni fighters which may mark a turning point.

The southern port city of Aden has been a focus of fighting since the Houthis first laid siege to it in March when it was home to the government which subsequently fled to Saudi Arabia.

“(Exiled President) Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi delegated this group to return to Aden to work to prepare the security situation and ensure stability ahead of a revival of the institutions of state in Aden,” a local official said after the group arrived by helicopter at a military air base.

The delegation included the ministers of the interior and transport, a former interior minister, the intelligence chief and the deputy head of the house of representatives.