Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), March 28 (IANS): Negotiations mediated by the UN are "the only chance" to prevent a long conflict in Yemen, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told an Arab summit on Saturday in Egypt's resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The Yemeni crisis has become the focus of the ongoing Arab summit led by Egypt and attended by 20 Arab leaders, including fleeing Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, amid ongoing Saudi-led military airstrikes against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

"Negotiations facilitated by my Special Envoy Jamal Ben-Omar and endorsed by the Security Council remain the only chance to prevent a long, drawn-out conflict," the UN chief said, urging the Arab leaders at the summit to provide "clear guidelines to peacefully resolve the crisis in Yemen".

Earlier during the summit, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud said the Saudi-led anti-Houthi military airstrikes, referred to as the "Decisive Storm Operation", "will continue until the Yemeni people enjoy security and stability".

The military move follows a prior request from the Yemeni president and his foreign minister who urged Arab states for military intervention to protect his legitimacy in Yemen.

The Shia Houthi rebels ousted the Yemeni president earlier this year after seizing the capital Sanaa and forced Hadi to flee to the southern seaside city of Aden.

"I have repeatedly condemned the attempts by the Houthis and former President (Ali Abdullah) Saleh to undermine political agreements by military force," the UN chief noted, showing understanding of the Saudi-led move yet urging for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

For his part, Hadi called for the coalition's military action to continue to defend the Yemeni legitimate leadership until the Houthis, backed by Iran, give up.

In his statement at the summit, Hadi invited all Yemeni people to take to the streets and public squares in "peaceful protests" against the Houthi armed rebels in the country.