Members of the Yemeni coast guard patrol on a boat off the port of the southern city of Aden after fighters loyal to Yemen’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi managed to take control of it and secure it completely on January 4, 2016.

Troops loyal to Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi seized a Red Sea port town on Wednesday in the country’s northwest following fierce fighting with Iran-backed Shiite militias, a military chief said.

“We have full control of the port and the town, along with its historic castle,” Fifth Military Region commander General Adel al-Qumairi said of Midi.

Intensive clashes had raged in the area since mid-December when government forces trained in nearby Saudi Arabia crossed the border and seized the town of Haradh.

The militias, known as Houthis, have reportedly used Midi’s port to bring weapons into their traditional stronghold in the north.

Despite losing Midi, they and their allies of renegade troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, continue to control a long stretch of the coastline.

Government forces have enjoyed air support from the Saudi-led coalition, which launched a campaign against the militias in March after they advanced on the southern city of Aden where Hadi had taken refuge before fleeing to Riyadh.

On Wednesday, coalition warplanes bombed militia positions in Sanaa, including the presidential complex, witnesses said.

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