Prime minister Khaled Bahah returned from exile to the main southern city of Aden last week, but acknowledged that his government still faces challenges, even in the south.
Yemeni Vice President and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and his cabinet returned to Aden on Wednesday, saying they intend to run the country from there until they can go back to Sanaa.
Yemen’s Cabinet was back in the country after months spent in self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia and was working Wednesday out of the southern port city of Aden, a government spokesman said.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia has stepped up its attacks on Iranian-supported Houthi rebels in Yemen’s central province of Marib, as its forces draw nearer to the capital San’a.
The Saudi-led anti-Houthi campaign, which came at Hadi’s request, seeks to restore the internationally recognized president and his government to power and has been ongoing since March 26.
Forty-five soldiers from the United Arab Emirates’ military, 10 from Saudi Arabia and five from Bahrain have been killed while taking part in a military campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, in the deadliest day for Gulf forces since the conflict began.
The witnesses said the coalition warplanes pounded positions of the Houthi rebels and bases of splinter troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
War-torn Yemen is on the brink of famine, with millions of women and children most at risk of starvation as fighting around major ports stalls imports of food and other humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.
Yemen’s exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has approved a plan to establish three military formations, made up mainly of tribal fighters and former military personnel, to fight the Houthi insurgency in the Tihamah region, a military official has said.