Yemen leader moved to 'secure location' as rebels advance

Yemen's leader was rushed to a "secure location" on Wednesday, a top aide said, as rebel forces bore down on his southern stronghold following clashes that sparked warnings of civil war.
      
The aide said President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi was taken to a safe haven "within Aden," denying that he had fled Yemen, a key ally in the US war on Al-Qaeda.
      
Earlier a source in the presidential guard said that the Western-backed leader had flown out of the country.
      
Hadi "boarded a helicopter from al-Maasheeq palace to an unknown destination abroad," the source said, before the aide insisted the president was still in the port city.
      
Aden residents were taking up arms at a weapons depot in preparation for a potential advance on the city by anti-government forces, a military source said.
      
The Huthi Shiite militia and their allies have seized large parts of Yemen and in recent days have been advancing on Aden, where Hadi fled after escaping house arrest in the capital Sanaa last month.
      
The Arabian Peninsula country has been gripped by growing turmoil since the Huthis launched a power takeover in Sanaa in February.
      
UN envoy Jamal Benomar warned on Sunday that Yemen was sliding towards a "civil war".
      
Hadi appealed to the UN Security Council on Tuesday to "shoulder its responsibilities... to safeguard Yemen from sliding into more chaos and destruction."       

Rebel forces seized a key airbase just 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Aden on Wednesday, days after US military personnel were evacuated from the site.
      
Yemen has allowed Washington to wage a long-standing drone war against Al-Qaeda militants in the impoverished country, which...