- Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has fled his palace in Aden as Houthi rebels advance towards the city.
- Gunfire could be heard around the city centre, and the rebels are reported to have seized the international airport.
- On Wednesday morning, the Houthis moved to within 60km (37 miles) of the city after taking a key air base following fierce fighting with Hadi loyalists.
- Government officials later said the president had been moved to a "secure location" but had not fled the country.
- The Reuters news agency reports that Aden residents attempted to storm an army barracks to obtain weapons before being repulsed by troops.
- Meanwhile, sources in neighbouring Saudi Arabia told Reuters that there were no plans for military intervention in the crisis, and that the build-up of military forces on its border with Yemen was "purely defensive".
- Mr Hadi took refuge in Aden last month after fleeing Sanaa. He had been placed under house arrest when rebels captured the capital but escaped.
- 'Secure location'
- On Wednesday morning, rebel fighters secured al-Anad air base, the country's largest, and declared their intent to take nearby Aden.
- US and European military advisers were evacuated from al-Anad last week after militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) overran a nearby town.
- Soon afterwards, a source in the presidential guard told the AFP news agency that Mr Hadi had boarded a helicopter at the presidential palace and headed "to an unknown destination abroad".
- But senior aides to Mr Hadi insisted he had merely been transferred to a "secure location within Aden" and had no plans to leave.
- Hours later, unidentified warplanes targeted the palace compound in Aden, officials and witnesses said, in the third such attack in a week.
- Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam told al-Masirah TV that the rebels would be in Aden "in a few hours", but stressed that they were not planning to "occupy" the south.
- Aden TV, a local pro-Hadi channel, urged residents to remain calm, preserve order and not allow "infiltrators and those with weak spirits" to encroach on public or private property.
- Bounty
- Meanwhile, Houthi officials said its fighters had arrested the country's Defence Minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi, and a senior aide in the southern city of Lahj, where clashes were continuing on Wednesday.
- State television, which is controlled by the rebels, also announced a reward of 20m Yemeni riyals ($93,000; £62,500) for anyone who captured the "fugitive" president.
- On Tuesday, Mr Hadi asked the UN Security Council to authorise military intervention by "willing countries" to "protect Yemen and to deter" imminent Houthi aggression in the south.
- On Wednesday the Arab League said it would discuss the proposal for a military intervention to stop the rebel advance.
- The Zaidi Shia-led rebels have said their aim is to replace Mr Hadi's government, which they accuse of being corrupt, and to implement the outcomes of the National Dialogue that was convened when Mr Saleh was forced to hand over power in 2011 following mass protests.
- The Houthis swept southwards from their northern heartland of Saada province last summer, entering the capital in September.
- They have since pushed into central, western and southern provinces with the support of Mr Saleh's allies, sparking clashes with Sunni tribesmen, AQAP militants and southern separatists.
- The Houthis: Zaidi Shia-led rebels from the north, who seized control of Sanaa last year and have since been expanding their control
- President Hadi: Backed by military and police loyalists, and by militia known as Popular Resistance Committees, he is trying to fight back against the rebels from his stronghold in the south
- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: Seen by the US as the most dangerous offshoot of al-Qaeda, AQAP opposes both the Houthis and President Hadi.
- Islamic State: A Yemeni affiliate of IS has recently emerged, seeking to eclipse AQAP.
From :BBC
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