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- An attack on the Aden airport resulted in the deaths of at least 22 people.
- The attack occurred when a plane landed with a new Saudi-backed cabinet.
- No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack at the Aden airport on Wednesday, moments after a plane carrying a newly formed Saudi-backed cabinet for government-controlled parts of Yemen landed.
Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik said that all members of the cabinet were “fine”.
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But the attack underscored the difficulties facing a government with Saudi Arabia’s intention to unite two of its allies in the war against the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement.
Hours after the attack, a second explosion was heard around Aden’s presidential palace in Maasheq, where members of the cabinet, including Maeen, as well as the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Said al-Jaber, had been taken to safety, said residents and local media.
In the attack on the airport, loud explosions and gunshots were heard shortly after the plane arrived from Riyadh, witnesses said.
Houthi drone loaded with explosives
A local security source said three mortar shells had landed in the airport lobby.
The cabinet gave the death toll on Twitter, citing the interior minister, and said 50 people were injured. The aid group Médecins Sans Frontieres had previously said that 17 people were treated for injuries at its hospital in Aden.
There was no immediate attribution of responsibility.
The Saudi-led coalition said it had shot down an explosives-laden Houthi drone that was aimed at the presidential palace.
There was no immediate reaction from the Houthis, who denied responsibility for the attack on the airport.
“We and members of the government are in the temporary capital of Aden and everyone is fine,” Maeen tweeted from the Maasheq palace.
“The cowardly terrorist act that targeted the Aden airport is part of the war being waged against the Yemeni state and its great people.”
Jaber tweeted: “Peace, security and stability will prevail thanks to the strong will of the Yemenis and their courageous government.”
The new cabinet unites the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi with the southern separatists, with the intention of fulfilling the Saudi goal of ending a dispute between Riyadh’s allies.
To damage
The two groups are the main Yemeni factions in a southern-based alliance backed by Saudi Arabia fighting the Houthis who control the north, including the capital, Sanaa.
Television images from the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel showed dozens of people leaving the plane when a first explosion hit the airport lobby. Heavy gunfire from armored vehicles followed, plumes of black and white smoke billowing from the scene.
Other video images showed damage to the terminal’s concrete walls and broken glass.
Government officials were among the victims of the airport attack, the sources said. Two staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross were killed in the attack on the airport and one disappeared, the ICRC said in a statement.
The southern port city of Aden has been embroiled in violence due to a rift between separatists and the Hadi government, based there after being driven out of the capital by the Houthis in 2014.
The separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks independence for southern Yemen, declared self-government in Aden in April, sparking clashes and complicating UN efforts to forge a permanent ceasefire in the overall conflict.
The Saudi-led coalition announced the new power-sharing cabinet this month after more than a year of intense Saudi mediation between the government and separatists.
The STC condemned the attack and accused the Houthi movement of responsibility.
“The attacks were timed with the arrival of new Yemeni government officials and once again demonstrate the malicious intentions of those trying to destabilize Yemen,” US State Department spokesman Cale Brown said in a statement, adding that such attacks will not stop peace efforts.
The UN envoy in Yemen, Martin Griffiths, and several Arab countries also condemned the attack.
“I wish the Cabinet strength to face the difficult tasks that lie ahead,” Griffiths said.
“This unacceptable act of violence is a tragic reminder of the importance of urgently returning Yemen to the path of peace.”
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