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  • Yemen
    Houthi fighters ride a patrol truck in Sanaa March 25, 2015. Houthi forces in Yemen backed by allied army units seized a key air base on Wednesday and appeared poised to capture the southern port of Aden from defenders loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, local residents said.Reuters
  • Yemen
    People seek shelter during a gunfire at an army base in Yemen's southern port city of Aden March 25, 2015.Reuters

12. 30 pm (IST): Pro-government forces have retaken the international airport in Aden that was held by Houthi rebels. 

10.30 am (IST): Saudi Arabia has reportedly deployed 100 fighter jets and more than one lakh soldiers as it strikes against Houthi rebels. 

10.15 am (IST):

10.10 am (IST): Ten people, including Houthi military commanders, have reportedly been killed in the airstrikes. 

Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes, backed by a coalition of Gulf nations, against the Houthi rebels in Yemen who have besieged the city of Aden, even as the Yemeni president reportedly fled the country on a boat. 

The United States also assured logistical and intelligence support, after the Saudi ambassador to the US said that the operation was meant to defend the Yemeni government against Iran-backed forces.

Saudi Arabia is backed by ten Gulf nations, including member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council such as the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, to give back control to the government in a country plagued by Al Qaeda on one hand and the Houthi rebellion on the other. 

Saudi jets targeted rebel bases in Sanaa and even the airport, while the Houthis fired back with anti-aircraft missiles.

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi left the country on a boat from the Aden port on Wednesday, as the rebels advanced in on his position. 

The Houthi rebels had announced a $100,000 bounty on Hadi through the state television that is now under their control. 

The crisis in Yemen is now feared to explode into an all-out civil war.

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