ADEN - Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah flew into the southern port of Aden from exile in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, after pro-government forces ousted Shiite rebels from the city, an airport source said.
Bahah, who is also vice president in the internationally recognised government, fled into exile with President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and the rest of his government when the rebels entered Aden - their last refuge - earlier this year.
An airport source said that Bahah arrived on a Saudi military plane, becoming the highest ranking official to return to the devastated city since the government announced its liberation in mid-July. Impoverished Yemen has been rocked by months of fighting between the Huthi rebels and Hadi loyalists, who have received air support from a Saudi-led coalition.
Thousands have been killed and millions are need of aid. On Monday, a humanitarian pause declared by the coalition went into effect but it collapsed the next day. The interior and transport ministers toured parts of Aden in mid-July during a brief visit to assess the damage from the fighting. They also looked at ways to fully reopen the ports and airport to allow the delivery of desperately needed relief supplies. The rebels and their allies remain in control of the capital Sanaa and large swathes of the country. The United Nations says the war has killed nearly 4,000 people, half of them civilians, while 80 percent of the 21-million population is in need of aid and protection. On Monday, a humanitarian pause declared by the coalition went into effect but collapsed the next day. An airport source said Bahah flew in on a Saudi military plane.
He promised in an arrival statement that ‘normal life’ would return to a ‘liberated Aden’. He later visited several districts and was briefed on damage to the presidential palace, state broadcaster and military headquarters, a security source said. He was also to visit people wounded in the fighting during his symbolic visit of a few hours, a member of his delegation said. ‘Aden is the key to victory’ in reconquering the country, the premier’s spokesman Rajeh Badi told Al-Arabiya television, adding that Hadi could also return ‘at any time’. Several government officials also arrived in Aden on a separate plane from Saudi Arabia, said Human Rights Minister Ezzedine al-Isbahi. He told AFP they would supervise work under way to reopen public buildings, including the resumption of broadcasts at state television and radio, and restore services in the battered city.
The interior and transport ministers toured parts of Aden in mid-July during a brief visit to assess the damage. They also looked at ways to fully reopen the ports and airport to allow the delivery of desperately needed relief supplies. The head of the Red Crescent in Aden, Ahmed Mansur, told AFP the charity had received food aid from the United Arab Emirates and was able to hand out 20,000 rations to residents of three neighbourhoods. Yemen depends on imports for most of its supplies, including food, medicine and fuel.
More than 10 million people are struggling to obtain food and water, the UN says. An AFP correspondent who toured Aden said authorities have managed to partly reopen main roads after removing debris, including burned out military vehicles and cars. Residents have also ventured outdoors to take stock of the damage, some returning from other areas of the city to homes devastated in the fighting.
Government forces were pressing an advance Saturday north and east of Aden to dislodge rebels still entrenched in Lahj and Abyan provinces, officials and witnesses said. Coalition warplanes stepped up raids late Friday and early Saturday against rebels in the strategic Al-Anad airbase in Lahj province, military sources said. Strikes also targeted the southeastern province of Taez, where fighting killed 47 rebels and five pro-government forces, they added. Meanwhile, witnesses reported that coalition warplanes also bombarded the province of Marib east of Sanaa and the rebel stronghold of Saada in the north on Saturday. The rebels and their allies remain in control of the capital Sanaa and large swathes of the country.