The United Nations has withdrawn from Yemen and dozens of diplomats evacuated after a third night of Saudi-led airstrikes blasted rebel positions in the country's east. Ambassadors and international officials were shipped out of Aden to the Red Sea port of Jeddah last night, escaping the city where president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had taken refuge before leaving for Egypt to shore up Arab support for his crumbling authority. Last night's bombing increased the campaign's death toll to 62 - while the conflict slowly widens in scale as Iranian-allied Houthi fighters attempt to overthrow Yemen's Western and Saudi-backed Hadi. It comes as Yemeni government officials claimed it was 'very possible' ground troops may be needed in the next stage of the coalition's campaign against the fighters. Flames and smoke billow from an arms depot in Aden destroyed by the Saudi-led bombing campaign . The explosions at the depot, aimed a slowing the advance of Houthi rebels, killed at least nine people . An air defence and radar system controlled by Houthi fighters lies in ruins after being targeted in the bombing campaign . Foreigners stand patiently beside their luggage as they await evacuation flights in the Yemeni capital Sanaa . The United Nations announced it had withdrawn from the city today amid the chaos of the escalating conflict . United Nations officials and foreign diplomats arrive at the country's international airport in Sanaa . A foreigner waves as she smokes a cigarette and waits to board a flight at the airport . More than 100 staff were evacuated yesterday, according to a United Nations source . In the capital Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since September, more than 100 U.N. staff were evacuated, a United Nations source said. Airport staff said dozens of other foreigners working for international oil companies and NGOs also flew out to Ethiopia and Djibouti. On Friday, the Houthis and allied army units gained their first foothold on Yemen's Arabian Sea coast by seizing Shaqra, 60miles (100km) east of Aden, allowing them to open a new front to march on the south's main city. Riyadh's intervention, a surprise move from a conservative monarchy better known for flexing its muscle in oil markets than through military might, is planned to last a month but could extend for five or six, a Gulf diplomatic source said. He said satellite imagery had shown that the Houthis had repositioned long-range Scud missiles in the north, close to the Saudi border and aimed at Saudi territory. Yemen's Health Ministry said more than 62 people had been killed and 452 wounded in the city since Wednesday, while Human Rights Watch claimed the lives of 'at least' 11 were lost overnight. Meanwhile, explosions rocked Aden's . largest arms depot today, sending flames and smoke into . the sky above the southern Yemeni city, witnesses said. Fire and explosions could be seen at the Jabal . Hadeed compound, which is close to residential and commercial . properties, but there was no immediate word of casualties. A group of Iranian-allied Houthi fighters wearing army uniforms sit on the back of a truck in Sanaa . A heavily armed Houthi militia member stands guard at the airport. The fighters are attempting to overthrown the Western and Saudi-backed Yemeni government . A radar and air defence system sits inactive after being targeted in the Saudi-led air strikes . A group of Yemeni locals gather around a crater left in the ground following the bombing campaign . Yemenis stage a demonstration in support of the Saudi-led campaign which seeks to halt the advance of the Houthi militia . A group of locals carrying their luggage on the roof of their vehicle flee the Yemeni capital . Residents also said a Houthi convoy of armoured vehicles, tanks and military trucks heading along the coastal road to Aden from Shaqra was attacked by warplanes before dawn. Local residents said the convoy had been stopped, but the Houthis were sending reinforcements to Shaqra and the advance along the main al-Mukalla-Aden road was expected to resume. At an Arab summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hadi urged Yemen's army to protect state institutions and obey the orders of Yemen's 'legitimate leadership'. He also underlined the regional dimensions of the conflict, calling the Houthis 'Iran's puppet'. Saudi Arabia's intervention is the latest front in its widening contest with Iran for power in the region. Their proxy struggle is also playing out in Syria, where Tehran backs Bashar al-Assad's government against mainly Sunni rebels, and Iraq, where Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias are playing a major role. Many residents are fleeing the city as the proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran intensifies . A group of men hurriedly tie luggage onto the roof of their vehicle in order to leave the capital . It is believed more than 62 people have been killed and 452 wounded in the city since Wednesday . A journalist watches international flights leave the airport at Sanaa as diplomats and United Nations staff were evacuated from the country . Saudi Arabia's King Salman told the summit the operation would continue until Yemen achieved peace and security, while Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, said the Houthi advances 'pose a threat to our security'. After the summit, Hadi flew with King Salman to Riyadh, rather than trying to return to Aden. Iran has denied giving the Houthis military support, but Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, added to the sense of confrontation, saying: 'Saudi Arabia is too small to be able to threaten Iran. 'We utterly condemn Saudi Arabia's attack on Yemen and it will end in failure,' he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. A Gulf diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Arab alliance initially planned a month-long campaign, but it could last up to six months. He said Iran was likely to retaliate indirectly, by encouraging pro-Iranian Shi'ite activists to carry out armed attacks in Bahrain, Lebanon and eastern Saudi Arabia. Smokes rises from an arms depot controlled by Houthi fighters that was bombed by Saudi pilots . A Defense Department official says U.S. forces rescued two Saudi airmen after they ejected from an F-15 fighter jet over waters south of Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading airstrikes against Iran-allied Houthi rebels. The official says a U.S. helicopter flew Thursday from neighboring Djibouti to the Gulf of Aden and rescued the airmen. Initial reports said the rescued airmen were 'ambulatory.' The destroyer USS Sterett took lead of the situation after Saudi Arabia requested U.S. assistance Thursday afternoon, coordinating assets from the U.S. naval base in Djibouti and the amphibious transport dock USS New York. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the operation by name and requested anonymity, had no information on the two airmen's status or why they ejected from their plane.
United Nations staff and diplomats have been evacuated from Aden, Yemen . Saudi-led bombing campaign targeting Iranian-backed fighters continues . The country's embattled president is attempting to shore up Arab support . Iranian security boss: 'Saudi Arabia is too small to be able to threaten Iran'