Yemeni loyalist forces battle Houthi holdouts in Aden

Yemeni loyalist forces said they advanced Monday into the last district of the southern port city of Aden still held by Iran-backed rebels, seeking to flush out the remaining insurgents. Fighters from the pro-government Popular Resistance "have regained control of most of al-Tawahi district," including the presidential residence, said spokesman Ali Ahmehi.

The southern fighters also pushed the Houthi rebels and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh out of the region's military headquarters and the naval base, he told AFP.

"A wide combing operation is under way to flush out" rebel holdouts, he said, adding that remaining insurgents had taken positions on several rooftops. Loyalist forces backed by Saudi-led warplanes have regained control of most of Aden since an assault dubbed "Operation Golden Arrow" began on Tuesday.

Aden, the scene of some of the war's fiercest ground battles, saw Saudi-backed troops and fighters seize from the Houthis some of its neighbourhoods and its international airport last week.

Clashes have however continued despite the government's declaration on Friday of the city's "liberation" after four months of ferocious fighting.

Dar Saad Bombing

Rebel bombardment on Sunday killed 57 civilians wounding 120 in the Dar Saad neighbourhood in the north of the port city, according to local health chief al-Khader Laswar.

A Houthi leader, denied shelling Dar Saad, a town just north of Aden and long home to fighters resisting their advances. But Yemeni medical officials and a doctor with an international aid organization said the shelling clearly came from the north and east of Dar Saad - areas under rebel control.

Two ministers from the government in exile in Saudi Arabia returned to Aden this weekend, and on Sunday they toured the devastated city.

The fighting in Yemen pits the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and loyalists of exiled President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is now based in Saudi Arabia.

More than 3,200 people have been killed in the fighting, uprooting more than 1 million people from their homes and leaving 20 million Yemenis without access to safe drinking water, the UN says.