First Saudi military plane lands at Yemen's Aden airport

A Saudi military plane landed in Aden on Wednesday as the airport reopened in Yemen's second city after four months of fighting, the transport minister said.

"This is the beginning of operations at the airport," Badr Basalma told reporters at the airport, which local fighters, backed by the Saudis, recaptured last week following fierce fighting with the Houthis and their allies, renegade Yemeni army units loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Planes carrying relief supplies are expected to land in the next two days, Basalama said without elaborating on the cargo of the plane that touched down on Wednesday.

Local fighters, many of whom are secessionists, allied with forces loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and backed by Saudi-led coalition warplanes, pushed the Houthi-Saleh forces out of most of Aden last week.

Aden airport was among the first areas to be recaptured by the the anti-Houthi fighters, who are benefiting from the support of forces freshly trained and equipped by the coalition.

The airport yesterday received its first UN aid shipment since the war began in late March.