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Aden (AFP)
Yemen’s new power-sharing government vowed on Thursday to bring stability to the war-torn country, a day after deadly explosions rocked Aden airport in an attack on cabinet members.
At least 26 people, including three members of the International Committee of the Red Cross and a journalist, were killed and dozens injured in the blasts when ministers disembarked from a plane in the southern city.
All cabinet members were reported unharmed in what some ministers accused of an attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels based in northern Yemen.
AFP video footage shows what appears to be a missile attack followed by a ball of intense flames, in a part of the airport that moments before had been packed with crowds.
But it is still not entirely clear what caused the explosions.
Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak told AFP on Thursday that the new unity government was prepared to address the challenges facing a country that has long been the most impoverished nation on the Arabian Peninsula.
“The government is determined to do its duty and work to restore stability in Yemen,” he said.
“This terrorist attack will not deter him from that.”
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died and millions have been displaced in Yemen’s grueling five-year war, which has triggered what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
The cabinet ministers had arrived in Aden days after being sworn in by Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in Saudi Arabia, who leads a military coalition against Houthi insurgents.
Hadi fled to Riyadh after Yemen’s capital Sanaa fell to the Houthis in 2014.
The new government includes ministers loyal to Hadi and supporters of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, as well as other parties.
While all oppose the Houthi rebels, they are deeply divided, and secessionists and forces loyal to the central government have clashed sporadically in and around Aden.
– Ministers blame Houthis –
Saudi Arabia has been encouraging the unity government to quell the “war within a civil war” and strengthen the coalition against the Houthi insurgents, who control Sanaa and much of the north.
Some ministers, including Mubarak, blamed Houthi insurgents for the attack, but other government officials remained more circumspect.
“Preliminary information and investigations show that the Houthi militia was behind this horrible terrorist attack,” Mubarak told AFP, adding that missiles were fired from areas controlled by the rebels.
Maged Al-Madhaji, from the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, said Wednesday’s incident was the most significant of the Yemen war.
“The explosions could have destroyed everything. They could have wiped out the entire legitimate government completely,” he told AFP.
– ‘Painful and scary day’ –
Yemenis had hoped the new government would immediately begin working to improve the situation for millions on the brink of famine, but the attack was a stark reminder that the country is far from escaping the grip of war.
“It was a painful and scary day,” Noor, a 28-year-old resident of Aden, told AFP.
“We were optimistic about the return of a government not because they are patriotic men, but because it meant the possible return of basic services and the end of the crises.”
“His ineptitude in security matters was the reason that the crowds gathered (in front of the plane), as well as announcing his arrival time, all this led to this disaster.”
For Bassem al-Qadi, who lost his cousin in the explosions, the government is the “last thread of hope” for the “exhausted” Yemenis.
“People want to live and have grown weary of death, destruction and terror,” he said.
International reactions condemning the incident continued to pour in on Thursday.
Katharina Ritz, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, said the Red Cross was mourning the loss of the three colleagues.
“The deaths and injuries caused by the explosion are a severe blow to many families,” he said in a statement. “Yemen has endured many difficult days; we hope tomorrow will be better.”
© 2020 AFP
