CAIRO (AP) – Yemen’s prime minister said on Saturday that a rocket attack on the airport in Aden was intended to eliminate the country’s new government when it arrived in the key southern city – a daring attack it was on Iran. supported rebels blame.
Premier Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed spoke to The Associated Press in an interview conducted at his office in Mashiq Palace in Aden. It was the leader’s first interview with international media after he survived Wednesday’s attack in which at least 25 people were killed and 110 others wounded.
“This is a major terrorist attack that was meant to eliminate the government,” the prime minister said. “It was a message against peace and stability in Yemen.”
Saeed reiterated his government’s accusations that Yemen’s Houthi rebels were responsible for the missile attack at the airport and a drone attack on the palace, shortly after the prime minister and his cabinet were transferred there.
The new Yemeni government was formed in December to end a dangerous political break with southern separatists, backed by the United Arab Emirates. The internal rift threatens the United Arab Emirates’ partnership with Saudi Arabia fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
Saeed said the ‘techniques’ used during the attack on the airport rocket are the hallmarks of the Houthis strategy.
Houthi officials denied being behind the attack, but tried to blame unspecified groups in the Saudi-led coalition. The rebel leaders did not provide any evidence, nor did they respond to requests for comment.
The Houthi have carried out similar attacks in the past. In 2015, former Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and members of his cabinet survived a rocket attack, blaming the Houthi, which hit an Aden hotel used by the government. Last year, the Houthi fired a missile at a military parade of a militia loyal to the UAE at a base in Aden, killing dozens of people.
The attack occurred moments after a plane with Saeed and his cabinet members landed at the airport. AP footage of the scene at Aden Airport showed members of the government delegation boarding as the blast shook the tarmac, with many ministers rushing back inside the plane or running from the stairs seeking refuge.
Saeed said three precision-guided missiles hit the facility, aimed at his plane, the arrival hall and the VIP lounge of the airport.
‘The accuracy of the guidance was great. The operation was large, “he said.
The prime minister said Yemeni investigators had collected the remains of the missiles and that experts from the Saudi-led coalition and the US would help determine the type and origin of the missiles.
Saeed and his newly formed cabinet return to Yemen a week after they were sworn in before Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where the fighting leader lives.
The cabinet shuffle was part of a power-sharing agreement between the Saudi-backed Hadi and the secessionist southern transitional council, an umbrella group of militias seeking to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed from 1967 until unification in 1990.
Saeed, the prime minister, said his government would prioritize ‘security and stability’ in the government areas after months of fighting between Hadi’s government and the STC.
“Regardless of the challenges in Aden, the government remains,” he said.
He also pointed out that ‘major’ economic challenges were the focus of his government.
The conflict in the Arab world’s poorest country began when the Houthis conquered the capital of Sanaa in 2014, forcing Hadi’s government to flee.
The following year, the Saudi-led coalition between the Iran-backed rebels intervened in what turned into a stalemate. Since then, more than 112,000 people have been killed – fighters and civilians.
Aden’s airport is expected to reopen on Sunday, Transport Minister Abdel-Salam Hamied announced as he visited the plant.