Yemen: more airstrikes hit captial as president returns from exile

After six months of exile, Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi arrived in the southern port city of Aden. Hadi, who was forced out by Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels in March, returned just before a  Saudi-led coalition, launched airstrikes on the country’s capital, Sanaa, killing 20 people, most of whom were civilians. Last week, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and seven ministers also returned to Aden to take up residence in the city.

The return to the capital Sanaa will come soon after the liberation of all cities and provinces from the [Houthi]militias … stressing that the phase of construction and reconstruction and the rise of the nation has started on the ground.

President Hadi

Yemen has been torn by a ferocious war pitting the Houthis and forces fighting for former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against Hadi loyalists, as well as southern separatists, local militias and Sunni extremists. According to the U.N., the number of civilians killed in Yemen has surpassed 2,000 while 4,000 have been wounded. Last week, two senior U.N. officials condemned the “virtual silence” of the international community on the conflict and its impact on innocent people.

Unless there is a serious commitment of the parties to find a political solution to the conflict that will end the violence and ensure humanitarian access to all populations, without discrimination, the situation is likely to degenerate further.

Adama Dieng, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide

Yemen President Middle East