ADEN/SANAA: Yemen’s president returned from exile to the southern city Aden Tuesday as his troops and allies in an Arab coalition press one of their most important offensives yet against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

After landing in the provisional capital, Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi went straight to the palace to “supervise” the offensive aimed at retaking Taiz province, mostly controlled by the rebels, a presidential source said.

His return comes just days after Prime Minister Khaled Bahah announced the return of his government to Yemen.

In September, after six months of exile in Saudi Arabia, Hadi and Bahah returned to Aden but had to go back to Riyadh after a deadly attack on the provisional seat of government. Hadi declared the southern port city Yemen’s temporary capital after he escaped house arrest in the rebel-held capital Sanaa in February.

The following month, he fled into exile as the rebels and their allies entered Aden, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to launch a military intervention in support of his internationally recognized government.

The president will be staying at the Maashiq presidential palace in the central Crater district of Aden.

The palace was severely damaged in the fighting that gripped Aden until July but was recently repaired by the United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia is taking a lead role in supporting Hadi’s government.

The coalition sent ground troops to Yemen in early August after months of airstrikes.

It has deployed significant reinforcements for the advance on Taiz, Yemen’s third city, military officials have said.

Taiz has seen heavy fighting in recent months between pro-government forces and the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies. There are loyalist troops inside the city but they are besieged by the rebels.

Pro-Hadi forces and their coalition allies pushed north toward Taiz overnight, capturing the village of Waziaa, southwest of the city, military sources said.

The rebel-controlled Saba news agency had said Monday that the insurgents repelled attempts to advance on four fronts toward Waziaa. Other sources said Monday Sudanese forces from the strategic Al-Anad airbase in Lahej were taking part in the Taiz operations.

Further south, pro-Hadi fighters advanced toward Rahida, the province’s second-largest city, following fierce clashes at nearby Shuraija, a military source said.

Loyalist forces deployed in Dhubab advanced toward the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, an army officer said. 

Yemeni security officials and witnesses say an ambush in Mocha killed 44 anti-rebel fighters.

The officials said Tuesday that the ambush by the Houthis took place the day before.

In a separate development, security officials say more than 20 Houthi fighters were killed Monday and Tuesday in clashes in the central Marib province.

The fighting has thrown into question U.N.-brokered peace talks that had been planned for later this month. A U.N. bid to launch peace talks in June failed over demands for a rebel withdrawal from seized territory, but this time, much effort has been put into ensuring there is agreement in advance on the agenda.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been identified by the U.N. as one of the world’s worst, with 80 percent of the country’s population on the brink of famine.