Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—A Saudi military plane loaded with aid arrived in Yemen’s Aden on Wednesday, the first since the city’s international airport reopened following four months of fighting between government loyalists and Houthi rebels.

The plane was carrying 20 tons of food, an airport official said, the first of several aid shipments dispatched by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works in Saudi Arabia.

Aden has been the scene of violent clashes between Saudi-backed forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels. Loyalists captured the southern city last week, in what was seen as the biggest setback for the Iran-backed rebels since they consolidated power across Yemen in September of 2014.

The arrival of the plane in Aden represents a positive step, Saudi military spokesman said, and comes as a result of Operation Restoring Hope.

The Kingdom officially announced the end of its aerial campaign, dubbed Operation Decisive Storm, against Houthis’ positions in Yemen in late April, and immediately launched a humanitarian campaign, codenamed Operation Restoring Hope.

However, Saudi Arabia did not rule out using force if Houthi militants continued their advance in Yemen.

Maj. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said Aden is safer than ever and reopening its international airport is a positive step.

The airport requires radical rehabilitation as a result of the Houthi bombardment, the spokesman told Asharq Al-Awsat via telephone.

According to Asiri, the next step for the Saudi-led coalition would be to secure the entire Aden city in order to act as a distribution point for aid across Yemen.

Nayef Al-Bakri, the newly appointed governor of Aden, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the arrival of the Saudi plane is “tantamount to a triumph for the [Popular] Resistance,” referring to the pro-Hadi forces.

Bakri said Aden’s airport and seaports are ready to receive aid and that the local government has formulated a plan aimed at restoring the city’s infrastructure.

Aden’s international airport closed in late March when a coalition of Houthis and followers of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh advanced on the city, prompting Hadi to take refuge in neighboring Saudi Arabia.