Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi demanded on Saturday that Houthi rebels in his country surrender.
At an Arab League meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Hadi called on rebels to give up territory they took in recent offensives, and demanded that their leaders turn themselves over to government forces. The president added that Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes against Houthi rebels will continue until they cease fighting.
"Operation Decisive Storm will continue until all the goals are achieved, and the Yemeni people start enjoying security and stability," he said, according to Al Jazeera.
However, Hadi's statement came from a position of diminished authority. The president fled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, as rebels approached the southern city of Aden, to which Hadi had initially escaped after Houthis took over Yemen's capital of Sanaa.
Saudi Arabia began blasting Houthi positions from the sky on Wednesday in an attempt to stop the advance. The intervention has caused concern that Yemen's internal conflict could eventually become a wider war, with involvement from other countries such as the United States and Saudi rival Iran. The U.S. is already providing Saudi Arabia with intelligence and logistical support, The New York Times reported.
Observers have described the fighting in Yemen as a sectarian battle. Houthis follow a branch of Shia Islam called Zaidism, while Saudi Arabia is a predominantly Sunni Islam nation. However, this argument glosses over more local considerations, such as the possible involvement of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saleh was booted from Yemen's top political post in 2012 following protests during the Arab spring. He had been Yemen's president for more than two decades, and many believe he is helping orchestrate the Houthi advance. Saleh could facilitate a comeback by causing chaos, or installing his son Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh as Yemen's next president.