The United Arab Emirates, part of a Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen, on Monday warned Huthi rebels to withdraw from the key port city of Hodeida as pro-government forces advance.

The "Hodeida port operation will continue unless rebels withdraw unconditionally," UAE minister of state Anwar Gargash told a press conference in Dubai.

He said the Arab coalition, which has been closing in on Yemen's strategic city, has kept the Hodeida-Sanaa road "open for the Huthi militias to withdraw".