Southern Popular Resistance fighters flash the victory sign at the international airport of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on July 15, 2015. (Reuters/Stringer)

Jeddah, Riyadh and Aden, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s government-in-exile said it has started returning to Aden after loyalists captured most of the southern city from Houthi rebels earlier this week.

The government will “gradually” relocate to Aden from its current base in Riyadh, beginning with the ministries of transport and interior, Yemen’s transport minister Badr Mubarak Ba-Salma said.

This comes after forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, captured Aden’s seaport and the Mualla district on Wednesday, one day after they pushed the Houthis from Aden’s international airport and the surrounding area.

Houthis and forces aligned with ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh entered Yemen in late March, prompting Hadi, the internationally recognized president, to flee to Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, “elite forces” loyal to Hadi captured large parts of the Mualla district in western Aden, sources said, following clashes that caused dozens of deaths among the Houthis.

Violent clashes also erupted in Aden’s central Crater district where the presidential palace is located.

The capture of Aden represents the biggest setback for the Houthis who have been the target of a Saudi-led aerial campaign since late March.

Ba-Salma said his ministry will return to Aden in order to secure the city’s seaports and airports and enable them to allow humanitarian aid into Yemen.

“Coinciding with the clashes in the Khor Maksar, Mualla and Crater districts, [the Houthis] randomly shelled the residential areas controlled by the resistance in northern and eastern Aden with mortars and Katyusha rockets,” eyewitnesses said.

The Aden offensive, dubbed “Operation Golden Arrow,” is part of a larger campaign to liberate other parts of the country from the Houthis, Ba-Salma said.

The Saudi-led coalition has been coordinating on the ground with pro-Hadi fighters known as the Popular Resistance forces.

Ba-Salma said government loyalists are preparing to push into the governorates of Abyan and Shabwa to the east, Ma’rib to the north, and Taiz to the west.

He said his government will launch a comprehensive plan to fix the city’s infrastructure and restore services which have been suspended since the rebels entered.

“The Yemeni government is doing its best to bring back hope to the people of Aden who have patiently endured all sorts of pain and hunger,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Saudi military spokesman said on Wednesday the liberation of Aden comes as part of a major military campaign in coordination between the Saudi-led coalition and the Popular Resistance forces.

Brig. Gen Ahmed Asiri told Asharq Al-Awsat ground military operations against the Houthis and Saleh’s followers are continuing across Yemen and will not be confined to Aden.

Nasser Al-Haqbani and Mohamed Ali Mohsen contributed additional reporting from Riyadh and Aden.