Hadi loyalists pursue advance after retaking Al-Anad air base

ADEN: Pro-government forces pursued fleeing Houthis in south Yemen, military sources said, as they looked to press recent gains against the terrorists, including the retaking of a key air base.
Soldiers loyal to exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi wrested control Tuesday of Al-Anad airbase in Lahj province — one of Yemen’s largest military facilities — from the Houthis, and later advanced to take provincial capital Huta.
The recapture of Al-Anad is a major boost for the defense of Aden and paves the way.
Houthi terrorists beat a retreat in the Wadi Al-Husseini region around the road linking Al-Anad and Huta, the source said, adding that Lahj’s provincial governor was expected to visit Huta.
Al-Anad, 60km north of Aden, is strategically located on the main road north toward both the battleground third city of Taez and rebel-held capital Sanaa.
The vast complex housed US troops overseeing a drone war against Al-Qaeda in Yemen until shortly before the rebels overran it.
Its loss is a major blow to the terrorists.
To secure Aden, pro-government forces are seeking to retake areas in Lahj and neighboring Abyan province in a bid to prevent a rebel riposte.
Recent days have seen fierce fighting in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan that remains under terrorists’ control, and in the southern town of Loder, according to residents and local officials.
A spokesman for the pro-Hadi forces said Wednesday however that “the liberation of Zinjibar is now close.”
The government said it would only discuss the rebels’ withdrawal from all of the territory they have seized, in line with a UN Security Council resolution adopted in April.
Riad Kahwaji, head of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said recent gains by government forces, backed by Saudi-led air strikes, had exposed Houthi weakness.
“The continuation of the offensive exerts heavy pressure on the Houthis, yet they continue to refuse initiatives for a peaceful solution to the crisis,” he said.
The retaking of Aden by pro-government forces has allowed aid to begin to flow into southern Yemen.
An AFP correspondent said that a Saudi military plane touched down Wednesday at the port city’s repaired international airport, carrying 25 tons of medical supplies.