Aden: Fighting gripped Yemen’s second city Aden on Sunday as the UN envoy was expected in the Al Houthi-held capital Sana’a to press his efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Saudi-led warplanes bombed Al Houthi positions, killing eight people, while Al Houthi rocket fire killed six, including a child, officials said.

Aden was the last refuge of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi before he fled to Saudi Arabia in March and has been a key battleground ever since.

In neighbouring Lahj province, Hadi loyalists attacked an Al Houthi gathering, killing 11, military sources said.

They also attacked the Al Houthi-held Al Anad air base, Yemen’s largest. Eight Al Houthis and two Hadi loyalists were killed, the sources said.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed was due in Sana’a for talks with the Al Houthis and their allies on his ceasefire plans.

After talks in Riyadh with the exiled government, he expressed optimism on Wednesday that a humanitarian truce could be agreed.

The same day, the United Nations declared Yemen a level three emergency, the highest on its scale.

More than 21.1 million people - over 80 per cent of Yemen’s population - are in need of aid, with 13 million facing food shortages.

More than 2,800 people have been killed in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country since March, according to UN figures.