Yemen’s Exiled President Arrives in Aden

Aden, Yemen (PNA/Xinhua) — Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi arrived Tuesday morning in the southern port city of Aden, the country’s temporary capital, along with several ministers and military officials, a presidential source told Xinhua.

Hadi returns as the Saudi-backed government forces stepped up a major counter-offensive launched on Monday to retake the country’s third largest city of Taiz from Houthi’s control.

“The president arrived in Aden’s international airport Tuesday morning and he is going to supervise and closely monitor the military operations taking place against Houthis in Taiz province within the next hours,” the presidential source said on condition of anonymity.

Airport sources told Xinhua that Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassine and other cabinet members arrived with Hadi who will stay for the first time at the presidential compound since the fighting erupted in March.

Local residents said that apache helicopters of the Saudi-led Arab coalition were seen hovering over Hadi’s presidential palace in Aden’s neighborhood of Cirater after his arrival.

It’s not yet clear how long he will stay in Aden, but local sources based in Aden confirmed that all Yemeni government members will stay here permanently.

Heavy security reinforcements and special UAE soldiers were deployed around the Presidential Palace and other surrounding areas in Aden’s neighborhood of Cirater, where Hadi is residing, according to local sources.

On Oct.6, Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah escaped unharmed as his temporary headquarters in Aden were attacked by a series of suicide bombings that killed more than 18 people, most of them UAE soldiers.

The Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group claimed the suicide car bombings which also hit military installations used by Saudi-led coalition troops particularly the base of the UAE forces in Aden’s district of Buraiga.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition in March began carrying out air strikes against military bases and arms depots of the Shiite Houthi gunmen, and later sent in thousands of ground troops from UAE, Qatar and different nationalities to back pro-Hadi forces.

Hadi spent a few days in Aden in September before returning Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh.

The Houthi gunmen seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014, forcing Hadi and his government to flee Aden and then Riyadh.

With support of the Saudi-led coalition, the pro-government fighters have retaken Aden as well as four other southern provinces in July.

However, the Shiite Houthi rebels supported by army units from the Republican Guard Forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh are still holding the capital and several northern provinces. (PNA/Xinhua) RMA/SSC