Aden--Yemen's leader was rushed to a "secure location" Wednesday as rebel forces bore down on his southern stronghold and a warplane attacked his presidential complex, prompting pleas for urgent intervention.
The escalating turmoil has stoked fears that Yemen -- a front line in the US battle against Al-Qaeda -- is teetering on the brink of all-out civil war.
A top aide of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said the Western-backed leader had been taken to a safe haven "within Aden", the southern port city where he fled last month.
Earlier a source in the presidential guard said that Hadi had flown overseas, but the aide denied he had left the country.
Yemen has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Huthi Shiite rebels launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.
The strife has raised fears that the country could be torn apart by a proxy war between Shiite Iran, accused of backing the rebels, and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which supports Hadi.
In a major blow to the embattled leader, the Huthis said they had captured his defence minister in their push southwards.
Several missiles were fired by an unidentified warplane at Hadi's complex in Aden but missed his residence and hit an abandoned building, a presidential security official said.
Large crowds of Aden residents could be seen running to take up arms at a weapons depot in preparation for the expected rebel advance, an AFP photographer said.
AFP
