Arab warplanes pummel Yemen rebels

Arab warplanes have pounded Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen for a third night.

The assault comes with President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi holding summit talks in Egypt with regional allies seeking to prevent his overthrow.

The deeply tribal Arabian Peninsula state, on the front line of the US battle against al-Qaeda, is the scene of the latest emerging proxy struggle between Middle East powers.

An Arab coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies, is battling to avoid having a pro-Iran regime on its doorstep, as Shi'ite Huthis tighten the noose around Hadi's southern stronghold.

Heavy strikes shook the rebel-held capital Sanaa until dawn on Saturday.

"It was an intense night of bombing and the windows shook," said a foreigner working for an international aid organisation.

"People want to leave but there are no flights out of Yemen."

The strikes mainly targeted arms depots and other military facilities outside Sanaa, witnesses said.

Saudi Arabia says more than 10 countries have joined the Arab coalition defending Hadi, who arrived in Egypt on Friday to join allies at the summit, a day after surfacing in Riyadh.

He went into hiding earlier in the week as rebel forces bore down on his refuge in the main southern city of Aden and a warplane attacked the presidential palace.

The Arab summit, which opened on Saturday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, is expected to back the offensive against the rebels and approve the creation of a joint military force to tackle extremists.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told fellow Arab leaders the region faced "unprecedented" threats.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman vowed the military intervention his government is leading would continue until it brings "security" to the Yemeni people.

The situation has become increasingly tense in Aden with rebel forces clashing with anti-Huthi militiamen in several areas, raising fears that Hadi's last bastion could autumn.