Houthi rebels in Yemen have seized control of the country's third largest city, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
The Houthis seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, last year and the president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced to flee to the main southern city of Aden.
Now the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdulah Saleh, who was ousted in the so-called Arab Spring, have seized Taiz, about 170 kilometres from Aden.
Local radio journalist, Sara al-Zakari, said it was a strategic move.
"This is a very strong statement and it can count as a gateway to Aden so going through Taiz and then to Aden it makes it much easier for the influence of the Houthis to grow and to use Taiz as a gateway to start the huge battle, as we can see," she said.
Security sources said some 300 men, including Houthi fighters dressed in military uniforms and allied forces, had deployed at the airport and reinforcements were arriving from Sanaa by air and land.
The forces allied with the Houthis included members of the former central security force, a unit seen as loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Mr Saleh was forced from power in early 2012 after a year-long popular uprising and has been accused of working with the Houthis to restore his influence.
President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi called for "urgent intervention" from the UN Security Council to stop the Houthis advancing on Aden.
The Security Council was to meet later today at the UN headquarters in New York.
Mr Hadi, backed by Western and Gulf states as Yemen's legitimate ruler, has struggled to reassert his authority since escaping house arrest in Sanaa last month and fleeing to Aden.
In a letter to the Security Council, he said the Houthis and their allies "not only threaten peace in Yemen but regional and international peace and security".
He called for "urgent intervention by all available means to stop this aggression that is aimed at undermining the legitimate authority, the fragmentation of Yemen and its peace and stability."
President decries 'Iranian influence'
Mr Hadi has been trying to cement his power base in Aden which he declared the temporary capital after he retracted a resignation tendered under Houthi pressure.
On Thursday, his forces overran the special forces base in Aden after its commander rejected Hadi's decision to remove him.
On Saturday he pledged to fight Iranian influence in Yemen, accusing the Houthis of importing Tehran's ideology.
Mr Hadi said he would ensure that "the Yemeni republic flag will fly on the Marran mountain in (the Houthis' northern stronghold) Saada, instead of the Iranian flag".
Yemen is increasingly divided along sectarian lines, with the Shiite militia facing resistance from Sunni tribesmen and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the powerful branch of the global jihadist network.
The Houthis were targeted on Friday by Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for a series of devastating suicide bombings at mosques in Sanaa.
Yemen has long been a key US ally in the fight against Islamic extremism, allowing Washington to carry out drone strikes on AQAP on its territory.
But in statement on Saturday, Washington said it was evacuating its remaining personnel.
"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the US government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said.
Washington would "continue to actively monitor terrorist threats emanating from Yemen and have capabilities postured in the area to address them", he said.
The leader of the powerful Houthi movement vowed to pursue Islamist militants behind suicide attacks "anywhere".
In a live televised speech, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said his decision to mobilise his fighters amid accelerating violence in recent days was aimed against Islamic State and against al Qaeda.
Mr Abdel-Malek said the country was in danger of descending into Libya-style strife.
He also criticised the UN Security Council, saying it was led by countries that plotted "evil" against others.
The Houthis seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, last year and the president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced to flee to the main southern city of Aden.
Now the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdulah Saleh, who was ousted in the so-called Arab Spring, have seized Taiz, about 170 kilometres from Aden.
Local radio journalist, Sara al-Zakari, said it was a strategic move.
"This is a very strong statement and it can count as a gateway to Aden so going through Taiz and then to Aden it makes it much easier for the influence of the Houthis to grow and to use Taiz as a gateway to start the huge battle, as we can see," she said.
Security sources said some 300 men, including Houthi fighters dressed in military uniforms and allied forces, had deployed at the airport and reinforcements were arriving from Sanaa by air and land.
The forces allied with the Houthis included members of the former central security force, a unit seen as loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Mr Saleh was forced from power in early 2012 after a year-long popular uprising and has been accused of working with the Houthis to restore his influence.
President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi called for "urgent intervention" from the UN Security Council to stop the Houthis advancing on Aden.
The Security Council was to meet later today at the UN headquarters in New York.
Mr Hadi, backed by Western and Gulf states as Yemen's legitimate ruler, has struggled to reassert his authority since escaping house arrest in Sanaa last month and fleeing to Aden.
In a letter to the Security Council, he said the Houthis and their allies "not only threaten peace in Yemen but regional and international peace and security".
He called for "urgent intervention by all available means to stop this aggression that is aimed at undermining the legitimate authority, the fragmentation of Yemen and its peace and stability."
President decries 'Iranian influence'
Mr Hadi has been trying to cement his power base in Aden which he declared the temporary capital after he retracted a resignation tendered under Houthi pressure.
On Thursday, his forces overran the special forces base in Aden after its commander rejected Hadi's decision to remove him.
On Saturday he pledged to fight Iranian influence in Yemen, accusing the Houthis of importing Tehran's ideology.
Mr Hadi said he would ensure that "the Yemeni republic flag will fly on the Marran mountain in (the Houthis' northern stronghold) Saada, instead of the Iranian flag".
Yemen is increasingly divided along sectarian lines, with the Shiite militia facing resistance from Sunni tribesmen and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the powerful branch of the global jihadist network.
The Houthis were targeted on Friday by Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for a series of devastating suicide bombings at mosques in Sanaa.
Yemen has long been a key US ally in the fight against Islamic extremism, allowing Washington to carry out drone strikes on AQAP on its territory.
But in statement on Saturday, Washington said it was evacuating its remaining personnel.
"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the US government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said.
Washington would "continue to actively monitor terrorist threats emanating from Yemen and have capabilities postured in the area to address them", he said.
The leader of the powerful Houthi movement vowed to pursue Islamist militants behind suicide attacks "anywhere".
In a live televised speech, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said his decision to mobilise his fighters amid accelerating violence in recent days was aimed against Islamic State and against al Qaeda.
Mr Abdel-Malek said the country was in danger of descending into Libya-style strife.
He also criticised the UN Security Council, saying it was led by countries that plotted "evil" against others.
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