🌲🌲🌲Explosions rock Aden airport, killing at least 22, as new Yemen
government arrives
Three explosions hit Aden airport as the newly-formed Yemeni
government arrived from Saudi Arabia on Dec 30. (Murad Saeed via Storyful)
By Ali Al-Mujahed and Sudarsan Raghavan
Dec. 30, 2020 at 4:03 p.m. GMT+1
SANAA, Yemen — Blasts rocked the airport in the Yemeni city of
Aden on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring 58, shortly after
members of a newly created unity government arrived.
The death toll is expected to rise, as 36 victims remain in
serious condition with wounds requiring major surgeries, said Ali Abdullah
Saleh, director of Aden’s health office. He said the injured were taken to
several hospitals in the southern coastal city.
Map of Aden, Yemen.
The assault, for which no group immediately claimed
responsibility, threatens to ignite more turmoil in the Middle East nation
already reeling from war and hunger. It was launched after the Yemeni
government forged a political alliance with southern separatists, ending months of
feuding that threatened to plunge the country into more conflicts and chaos.
Videos posted on social media showed that the blast occurred
just as members of the new government were disembarking from their
plane, belonging to national carrier Yemenia, which flew in from Saudi
Arabia. Large plumes of white smoke billowed as people ran for cover and
gunfire erupted. In one video, a destroyed van, surrounded by blood stains,
shards of glass and debris, sat by the arrival hall, the building’s facade torn
apart by the explosions.
“We were waiting to receive the new government,” said Mohamed
Fadhil al-Jaabi, a spokesman for the chairman of the separatist group, the
Southern Transitional Council. “The attack happened when they were getting off
the plane.”
He said three missiles hit the airport, but other reports
attributed the destruction to mortars.
The plane’s passengers included Prime Minister Maeen
Abdulmalik Saeed and other cabinet members, as well as Saudi Arabia’s
ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Said al-Jaber, according to Saudi state media.
All members of the new government were accounted for and taken to safety, the
Saudi media reported.
The new power-sharing government, brokered by Saudi Arabia earlier
this month, brought together the two main groups fighting Iranian-aligned
Houthi rebels who control much of northern Yemen.
A security officer reacts after explosions hit Aden airport, upon
the arrival of the newly formed Yemeni government in Aden, Yemen, Dec. 30,
2020. (Fawaz Salman/Reuters)
The Yemeni government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi
had a contentious relationship with the influential separatists of
the Southern Transitional Council, which wants independence for southern Yemen.
In April, the separatists declared self-rule in Aden, a strategic port city,
which touched off violence and concerns that Yemen’s conflict could escalate
just as the United Nations was seeking a nationwide cease-fire to
prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
In 2015, Yemen’s civil war deepened with the entry of a Saudi-led
coalition of regional Sunni nations, backed by the United States. They sought
to restore the Hadi government and prevent Iran from extending influence in the
region through the Shiite Houthis.
A humanitarian crisis also worsened, becoming what the
United Nations now calls the most severe humanitarian catastrophe in the world.
Millions are on the edge of famine and suffering from cholera and other
diseases. More than 300,000 have fled their homes, among myriad other
woes.
Western diplomats and U.N. officials condemned Wednesday’s attack.
In a tweet, Michael Aron, Britain’s ambassador to Yemen, described
“the cowardly attack on Aden Airport” as a “despicable attempt to cause carnage
& chaos & bring suffering when Yemenis had chosen to move forward
together.”
Martin Griffiths, a U.N. special envoy to Yemen, issued a
statement wishing “the Cabinet strength in facing the difficult tasks ahead.”
He added: “This unacceptable act of violence is a tragic reminder of the
importance of bringing Yemen urgently back on the path towards peace.”
Raghavan reported from Cairo.
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