A Houthi militia leader and two of his companions were killed in fierce clashes in the province of Shabwa in southern Yemen. They were killed during battles with the Popular Resistance Forces on Wednesday in the Tawal al-Sada area of Asilan district inside Shabwa province.

Meanwhile, a civilian and his wife were killed by a roadside bomb planted by Houthi militias in their farm in Ibb province in central Yemen. Politically, Yemen’s ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has said he is open to negotiations with Saudi Arabia.

“We have no choice but dialogue,” Saleh said at a meeting of his General People’s Congress party in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday. “We are ready to go to Riyadh, Khamis Mushit, Muscat or elsewhere to start dialogue and to reach an understanding,” Saleh was quoted as saying.

On the humanitarian front, Saudi Arabia hosted in Riyadh the preparatory meeting on recovery and reconstruction in Yemen in the presence of Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid Bin Daghr. The meeting reviewed the readiness of donor countries and regional and international organizations in extending financial support in Yemen’s recovery and reconstruction.

Military sources revealed that the leadership of Arab Coalition to support the legitimacy in Yemen has identified a number of vehicles and carriers used by armed militias and armed forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to support the supply lines, the vicinity of a UN facility in the suburbs of Saada and al-Hadba, taking advantage of the special protection enjoyed by the institutions.
 
The sources pointed out that the coalition leadership monitored movements of the militias and the Republican Guard with their weapons, equipment and military vehicles near the facility. It also noted the presence of workshops and warehouses for the militants in the same location. He confirmed that the coalition monitored the sites by satellite, aerial and field photography to prove that the coup forces exploited the surrounding sites of buildings and headquarters of international and non-governmental organizations, as well as using them in combat operations.

In April 2015, the Security Council issued its resolution No. 2216, which includes the prohibition of the supply of arms, gear and military means of transport, to the deposed president and his son Ahmed, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abdul-Khaliq al-Houthi, Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim and all the parties working for them in Yemen. The resolution called on Houthis to stop fighting and withdraw their troops from areas they had taken over, including the capital, Sana'a.

UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed described the new UN plan on Hodeidah as "the gateway, not the goal", saying that it is the beginning of a comprehensive solution to the Yemeni crisis. Ould Cheikh Ahmed stressed importance of resolve the issue of the port of Hodeidah; to avoid any military operation on it. "We do not ask the parties to the dispute to hand over the port to the legitimacy, but to hand it over to a third party by the United Nations to manage the port," he said.
 
The envoy stressed that the full solution to the crisis is to end the war in Yemen. "At the moment, we are looking for solutions to some issues such as the issue of salaries and airport Sana'a," he said, stressing the need for a comprehensive solution. He pointed out that his current visit to Oman came in coordination with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterich, to take a new tour of the region and find an approach to resolve the Yemeni issue.