Houthis call for evacuation of Yemen’s Aden airport amid escalation

Yemen's Houthi group urged civilians at Aden International Airport to "immediately evacuate" the facility amid an escalation in fighting between Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthis since July.

"The armed forces reiterate their final call for those present at Aden Airport to immediately evacuate the airport due to the presence of a Saudi military cargo plane transporting weapons to kill the Yemeni people," group spokesperson Yahya Saree wrote on Telegram.

The statement came less than two hours after Saree issued a similar warning to civilians.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials or the Yemeni government regarding the Houthi statement.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, triggering a civil war. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.