LIVE BLOG: Saudi and Arab allies bomb Houthi positions in Yemen

At least 21 Yemeni Shiite rebels were killed Friday when residents in a tribal southern region opened fire at their vehicles, a local official and witnesses told AFP.

The Houthi rebels were travelling in three vehicles from Lahj province towards Aden, the southern stronghold of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, when they were ambushed.

The attack took place just 15 kilometres (about nine miles) north of Aden, where tensions were high on Friday as the rebels clashed with the "popular committees" -- an anti-Houthi militia controlling parts of the city, security officials and residents said.

Yemen's national carrier declared on Thursday the suspension of its flights until Sunday.

The suspension was decided for the protection of passengers and in the light of deteriorating security conditions in Yemen, the official Yemeni news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying.

It is not clear whether Sanaa International Airport is ready to operate.

A military base adjacent to the airport was targeted by fighter jets belonging to states allied to Saudi Arabia early on Thursday.

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a senior Iranian official about the crisis in Yemen on Thursday, a US official said.

Kerry spoke via conference call with foreign ministers from the GCC about the situation in Yemen.

"He commended the work of the coalition taking military action against the Houthis and noted the United States' support for those coalition efforts, including intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, and advisory and logistical support for strikes against Houthi targets," said State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke. 

The ministers, while expressing support for political negotiations as the best way to resolve the crisis, also defended the Saudi campaign in the conflict-torn country against the as the Houthis have resorted to the use of force, according to Rathke. 

"There is no purely military solution to the situation in Yemen," Rathke said. "However, we also understand the Saudis' concerns, especially given the Houthis' failure to, you know, engage meaningfully in the political dialogue process."

Kerry also met one-on-one with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Lausanne to discuss the Yemeni crisis. The Swiss city is currently hosting negotiations between world powers and Iran on and its controversial nuclear programme. 

The situation in Yemen is not affecting those talks, Rathke said.

Air strikes in Sanaa continued to rock the night, as the Arab coalition against the militant Houthi group sustained its military campaign in Yemen.

The strikes have targeted military bases under the control of the Houthis and their allies. Witnesses told AFP that anti-aircraft fire erupted in response to coalition air strikes against a camp at al-Istiqbal, at Sanaa’s western entrance.

The al-Samaa military base, north of Sanaa, was also hit by air strikes. Al-Samaa is believed to be where army units take orders from Ali Abdullah Saleh, the son of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who is accused of allying with the Houthis against the government.

Strikes were also reported in Aden, south of Yemen as two air raids targeted al-Anad air base, which Houthi rebels had seized on Wednesday.

Military sources said that another base allied with the Houthis in Qatabah, around 120 kilometres north of Aden, was also targeted by the coalition. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told France 24 channel that his country backs the Saudi-led military operation in Yemen.

“We support Saudi Arabia’s intervention,” he said. “Turkey may consider providing logistical support based on the evolution of the situation.”

Erdogan also called on the Houthis and to cede power in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Iranian ambassador in Kuwait Ali Reza Enayati said that his country rejected the military operation, and that it will only serve to further complicate matters in the Arab world.

Enayati said that the Arab coalition air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen would have a “negative effect on the region.”

Saudi Arabia has declared that the military campaign against the Houthi militant group will continue as long as necessary.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Aseri, the commander of the Saudi-led operation, told a press conference on Thursday that the operation against the Houthis aims to prevent the militants from harming the Yemeni people and neighbouring countries.

He added that the airstrikes against the Houthis had achieved their targets within the first 15 minutes, and that a ground offensive was not in the plan for the time being.

Locals have reported that most of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, is now under complete darkness after electricity cuts.

Fighter jets have begun striking the city of Taiz, the capital of the most populous governorate in Yemen.

The south-western city of some 600,000 people is a stronghold of anti-Houthi sentiment.

Earlier on Thursday residents of the city held a demonstration in the central square to express their support for the Saudi-led campaign against the Houthis, who took control of the city last week.

The Saudi Embassy in the United States tweeted a video that purportedly showed thousands of people in Taiz demonstrating in support of the military intervention.

Video: Thousands demonstrate in #Taiz #Yemen in support of #Saudi-led coalition against #Houthi rebels http://t.co/aVYDNDxGL2 @SkyNewsArabia

— Saudi Embassy (@SaudiEmbassyUSA) March 26, 2015

: now Joy & happiness from Taiz, #Yemen they thanks the Saudi king for save them from #al_Huthi #عاصفة_الحزم pic.twitter.com/0iyRNiu2pM”

— سالم الظفيري (@salmaed) March 26, 2015

Commenters on the ground reported that the strikes targeted Taiz Airport, which is under Houthi control.

Houthi fighters responded with anti-aircraft gunfire.

Egyptian television presenter and interviewer Ahmed Mansour wrote on his Facebook page the reason for Egypt's negligible role in Operation Determination Storm was due to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's secret backroom meetings with the governments in opposition to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf states.

Translation: After the Gulf states realised Sisi’s betrayal and secret meetings with the Houthis, Iranians and Syrians to plot against them, they did not inform Sisi about operation Determination Storm and did not ask him to participate. And when Sisi woke up and found that the Gulf states had taken the matter into their hands with a surprise war to secure their existence and borders and curb Iranian influence, Sisi rushed to declare his support of the operation and willingness to participate. But the Gulf had already sent the message across and taught Egypt a lesson.

In his first appearance since the Saudi air strikes on Yemen, head of the Houthi movement Abdel Malik al-Houthi gave a speech in which he denounced the Arab coalition involved in the military intervention as puppets of the west.

The live speech was aired on the Houthi al-Masirah television channel.

Al-Houthi said that Yemen’s people will oppose “criminal, unjust and unjustified aggression” by Saudi Arabia.

“Our Yemeni people are more resolved and determined to defend themselves, to defend their freedom and defend its dignity,” he stated.

Houthi militiamen stormed the Sanaa offices of local newspaper al-Masdar on Thursday, detaining several of its journalists, Anadolu Agency reported.

al-Masdar's website was taken up by a large breaking news update bearing the report.

Translation: Breaking: Houthi militias storm the headquarters of al-Masdar media outlets (al-Masdar newspaper and al-Masdar Online} and kidnap a number of colleagues

Al-Jazeera's Yemen correspondent also reported that the channel's Sanaa offices had been raided by the Houthis.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international organisation that promotes press freedom, has frequently documented attacks on journalists in Yemen since Houthi militias took over large areas of the country.

"We call on all sides in Yemen to respect the civilian status of journalists and allow the media to work safely and freely during this critical juncture," the group said in a statement released in January.

Translation: The President of the Republic arrives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on his way to Sharm al-Sheikh to attend the Arab summit

President Hadi has confirmed on his official Facebook page that he will travel to Egypt to attend an Arab summit in the resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh.

Hadi touched down in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday afternoon, and was met by the Defence Minister and the Head of General Intelligence.

A group of Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Sharm al-Sheikh on Thursday.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister is due to begin speaking at a press conference shortly.

Troops allied to President Mansour Hadi, who arrived in the Saudi capital on Thursday afternoon, have retaken a key base in Yemen's south.

Al-Anad air base, located near the main southern city of Aden, was seized by Houthi forces on Wednesday morning.

Al-Anad was a key location for the US counter-terror operation in Yemen - around 100 US soldiers were evacuated from the base last week.