Yemen: 26 dead in an attack on the plane that …

At least 26 people died and more than 50 were injured on Wednesday in an attack on the airport in the Yemeni city of Aden after the landing of a plane carrying several ministers of the new government.

According to the TV channel Al ArabiyaAll the executive ministers except Defense were unharmed in the attack, in which explosives and three mortar shells were reportedly used. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. According to local reports, the Yemeni army intercepted and destroyed a drone loaded with explosives near the presidential palace in Maashiq.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed that two of its members were among those killed in the attack at the airport, although a third was “missing”. In a statement, IARC expressed the “deep sorrow” of the entire organization at the death of “comrades” at Aden airport and said staff were “in transit to the airport with other civilians when it produced the explosion ”, which injured three of them, one seriously.

“This is a tragic day for the ICRC and the people of Yemen,” said Dominik Stillhart, the ICRC’s director of operations, who said “Yemenis have suffered terrible suffering over the past five years”. “A day like this adds even more mourning to the Red Cross family and Yemeni families who have lost their loved ones,” he said.

One of the two ICRC staff who died on Wednesday was a Yemeni national who coordinated the organization’s airlift activities. His duties included overseeing the transfer of over a thousand former detainees. The other member was Rwandan and was a radiologist in the ICRC medical team.

For his part, the president of Yemen recognized by the international community, Abdo Rabbu Mansur Hadi, underlined after the attack that “good will prevail over evil” and stressed that attacks like this Wednesday will not prevent his government to “carry out” his mission “in Aden. Hadi ordered the formation of an investigative group and called for” the united efforts of government and local authorities “to face” criminal conspiracies “.

While Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulmalek Main noted on Twitter that the authorities “will continue their work until the end of the Houthi coup and the restoration of the country”.

“The members of the government are in the provisional capital of Aden and everyone is fine. This cowardly terrorist attack on Aden airport is part of the war launched against the Yemeni state,” he said. before stressing that the government “is not doing it. It will come back and do its job despite the challenges.” In addition, he stressed that the attack “is part of the war waged against the Yemeni state and the people”.

For his part, Rajé Badi, a government spokesman, stressed that the members of the executive were unharmed and clarified that they were all still inside the plane at the time of the explosion. Badi also spoke of a “cowardly and treacherous act”.

The Houthis have denied their responsibility. The Deputy Foreign Minister of the Houthi-established authorities, Hussein al Azi, sent his condolences to the internationally recognized government and accused the “mercenary factions”, referring to the South Yemeni separatists of the Southern Transitional Council (CTS) . Formed in 2017, it is backed by the United Arab Emirates, while the Yemeni government led by Abdo Rabbu Mansur Hadi is backed by Saudi Arabia, a sign of internal tensions within the coalition against the Houthis.

The attack was “strongly” condemned by the UN Special Representative for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, who said that “this unacceptable act of violence is a tragic reminder of the importance of putting Yemen back on the path to peace. peace”. The event came just days after the new Yemeni executive, which now includes members of the South Yemeni separatist movement, was sworn in at a ceremony in Saudi Arabia at which Hadi was present.

The Yemeni government has been based in Aden since the Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. However, the president runs his affairs between Aden and Riyadh, while Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition for defeat the insurgents. The conflict has escalated on several fronts in recent months, despite international mediation efforts, a war has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Currently, nearly 80 percent of the population, or some 24 million people, are in need of assistance in the country, where there are more than 20 million food insecure.