Yemen shuts Aden airport as global fears grow - BDlive

Yemen shuts Aden airport as global fears grow

by Agency Staff, 2015-01-22 06:35:59.0

SANAA — Yemen’s second city Aden shut its airport in support of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi on Wednesday amid growing international concern over attacks by Shiite militia on the authorities.

The powerful militia, known as Houthis, seized almost full control of the capital Sanaa in September last year and have fought pitched battles with government forces this week as they press for more political power.

At least 18 people had been killed in the fighting that erupted on Monday and dozens more wounded, medical sources said. On Tuesday, the militia seized Mr Hadi’s offices at the presidential palace and attacked his residence, in what officials said was an attempt to overthrow the government.

The United Nations (UN) Security Council condemned the attacks and backed Mr Hadi as the country’s "legitimate authority".

Gulf foreign ministers were due to hold an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the crisis. The six-member Gulf Co-operation Council has previously demanded the Houthis withdraw from Sanaa and other parts of the country they seized after sweeping south from their stronghold in the north.

Aden’s main security body said it was closing its airport, its seaport and entrances to the city due to "dangerous developments in the capital" and "attacks on the symbol of national sovereignty and constitutional legitimacy".

Aden was an independent country from 1967-90, where a separatist movement still exists.

Residents said hundreds of pro-government militia fighters had arrived in Aden from several southern provinces.

The rising unrest has fuelled longtime divisions in Yemen, where the government, Houthis, southern separatists, powerful Sunni tribes and the local al-Qaeda branch are all vying for influence. It has raised fears of a collapse of Mr Hadi’s western-backed government, a key ally in Washington’s fight against al-Qaeda, and the country descending into chaos.

The Houthis began increasing pressure on the authorities on Saturday with the kidnapping of Mr Hadi’s chief of staff Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak in an apparent bid to extract changes to a draft constitution opposed by the militia.

Mr Mubarak is leading efforts to reform how the country is governed under a "national dialogue" set up after former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from power in February 2012 following a year of protests inspired by the Arab Spring. His plans for dividing Yemen into a six-region federation have angered the Houthis, who claim it would split the country into rich and poor regions. Both Mr Hadi and Mr Mubarak are from the south.

Heavy fighting broke out on Monday around the presidential palace and in other parts of Sanaa, with the Houthis seizing a key army base, taking control of state media and firing on a convoy carrying Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, before a ceasefire was agreed. Clashes resumed on Tuesday, with the militiamen seizing the palace, looting its arms depots and attacking Mr Hadi’s residence.

In a televised speech after fighting subsided, defiant militia leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned that "all options" were open against Mr Hadi, whom he accused of supporting the "fragmentation" of the country.

Residents said the capital was tense but calm on Wednesday.

At an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the security council called for a full ceasefire and a return to dialogue, but did not threaten further action. Last November it slapped sanctions on two of the militia’s commanders, though not on Mr Houthi himself, and on Mr Saleh, who has been accused of backing the militia.

Since they seized Sanaa, the Houthis have advanced south of the capital, where they have met stiff resistance.

Yemen’s branch of the jihadist network, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is considered the militant group’s most dangerous and claimed responsibility for this month’s deadly attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

AFP

A large explosion during heavy clashes between presidential guards and Houthis in Sanaa, Yemen, on Monday. Picture: EPA

SANAA — Yemen’s second city Aden shut its airport in support of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi on Wednesday amid growing international concern over attacks by Shiite militia on the authorities.

The powerful militia, known as Houthis, seized almost full control of the capital Sanaa in September last year and have fought pitched battles with government forces this week as they press for more political power.

At least 18 people had been killed in the fighting that erupted on Monday and dozens more wounded, medical sources said. On Tuesday, the militia seized Mr Hadi’s offices at the presidential palace and attacked his residence, in what officials said was an attempt to overthrow the government.

The United Nations (UN) Security Council condemned the attacks and backed Mr Hadi as the country’s "legitimate authority".

Gulf foreign ministers were due to hold an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the crisis. The six-member Gulf Co-operation Council has previously demanded the Houthis withdraw from Sanaa and other parts of the country they seized after sweeping south from their stronghold in the north.

Aden’s main security body said it was closing its airport, its seaport and entrances to the city due to "dangerous developments in the capital" and "attacks on the symbol of national sovereignty and constitutional legitimacy".

Aden was an independent country from 1967-90, where a separatist movement still exists.

Residents said hundreds of pro-government militia fighters had arrived in Aden from several southern provinces.

The rising unrest has fuelled longtime divisions in Yemen, where the government, Houthis, southern separatists, powerful Sunni tribes and the local al-Qaeda branch are all vying for influence. It has raised fears of a collapse of Mr Hadi’s western-backed government, a key ally in Washington’s fight against al-Qaeda, and the country descending into chaos.

The Houthis began increasing pressure on the authorities on Saturday with the kidnapping of Mr Hadi’s chief of staff Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak in an apparent bid to extract changes to a draft constitution opposed by the militia.

Mr Mubarak is leading efforts to reform how the country is governed under a "national dialogue" set up after former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from power in February 2012 following a year of protests inspired by the Arab Spring. His plans for dividing Yemen into a six-region federation have angered the Houthis, who claim it would split the country into rich and poor regions. Both Mr Hadi and Mr Mubarak are from the south.

Heavy fighting broke out on Monday around the presidential palace and in other parts of Sanaa, with the Houthis seizing a key army base, taking control of state media and firing on a convoy carrying Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, before a ceasefire was agreed. Clashes resumed on Tuesday, with the militiamen seizing the palace, looting its arms depots and attacking Mr Hadi’s residence.

In a televised speech after fighting subsided, defiant militia leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned that "all options" were open against Mr Hadi, whom he accused of supporting the "fragmentation" of the country.

Residents said the capital was tense but calm on Wednesday.

At an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the security council called for a full ceasefire and a return to dialogue, but did not threaten further action. Last November it slapped sanctions on two of the militia’s commanders, though not on Mr Houthi himself, and on Mr Saleh, who has been accused of backing the militia.

Since they seized Sanaa, the Houthis have advanced south of the capital, where they have met stiff resistance.

Yemen’s branch of the jihadist network, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is considered the militant group’s most dangerous and claimed responsibility for this month’s deadly attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

AFP

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