Yemen clashes kill 20, as fighting rages

Despite being forced to step down in 2012 under a Gulf-brokered transition plan following mass protests against his decades of rule, Mr Saleh has remained a powerful political player operating behind the scenes, enjoying immunity under the deal.

A coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, has been bombarding Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen since late March in a bid to reinstate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh. Adel Shuja, a leading figure of the Congress party headed by Saleh, actually said the “negotiations” are “between the leaders of the Congress party and diplomats from the United States, Britain and the UAE in order to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen and to lift the siege on the grounds” and that “the continuation of the war and the siege serve extremist groups.” “These negotiations have made significant progress so far”.

Two Saudi aircraft landed in Aden Friday bringing equipment needed to reopen the city’s airport four months after the Yemeni civil war shut it down, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported.

A vital supply artery for war-torn south Yemen, the airport came under fire from the Shiite Huthi rebels Thursday as a Saudi plane was unloading humanitarian aid onto the tarmac.

The chief of security for the airport told AFP that the rockets had been fired by Houthi fighters loyal to Saleh.

The first plane to land at Aden airport since pro-Hadi government forces took over was Saudi, carrying weapons and military assistance.

Taking advantage of a day of relative calm, a boat chartered by the worldwide Committee of the Red Cross and loaded with humanitarian aid was able to dock on Thursday.

Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on July 21 that at least 1,693 civilians had been killed and 3,829 others injured in the Arab country since March 26.

On Friday, Saudi warplanes carried out ten airstrikes against multiple areas in the Dhi Na’im district of the southern Yemeni province of Bayda, leaving four civilians dead, Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported. In a phone call on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama spoke with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman about the “urgent” need to stop the fighting and ensure humanitarian access to all areas of the country.

The US has repeatedly called for an end to the conflict.