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Fresh fighting has been reported in the southern Yemeni city of Aden between Houthi rebels and militiamen loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, the BBC reported.

Several houses in the central Crater district were set on fire after being hit by rockets as the rebels advanced, residents told the Reuters news agency.

Mosques were also broadcasting calls for holy war against the Houthis.

Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition, which backs the government, meanwhile bombed rebel targets to the north.

Earlier, the United States said it was stepping up its support of the coalition, including by speeding up weapons deliveries.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the rebels, and allied security forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, had wrecked Yemen's economy and institutions and created instability that jihadist militants would seek to exploit.

"We have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence sharing, and we have established a joint co-ordination and planning cell in the Saudi operations centre," he told reporters in Riyadh after meeting Mr Hadi.