Dubai: Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi returned to the southern city of Aden on Tuesday as government forces continued with the offensive to liberate Taiz from Al Houthi control.
According to officials in the president’s office, Hadi returned to oversee the campaign directly. He went straight to the presidential office and met with military officials to assess the security situation and oversee the merging of resistance forces into the army. His return comes just days after Prime Minister Khalid Bahah announced the return of his government to Yemen.
Observers say the timing aims to boost troop morale at this critical juncture.
“The president’s arrival expresses his confidence that Al Houthis will be defeated and legitimacy will return to Yemen,” said Seif Al Jahafi, a political figure and analyst based in Aden in a telephone interview with Gulf News. He said Hadi’s return will help boost the campaign to liberate Taiz.
“People have been calling for a long time for the president’s return,” said Fadel Al Rubei, head of Al Madar Centre for Strategic Studies in Aden.
“His return is a huge moral support to Yemeni forces and Taiz resistance fighters in their battle for the city,” Al Rubei told Gulf News. He said being in Aden Hadi will be able to better command the army.
Hadi declared the southern port city of Aden as Yemen’s temporary capital after he escaped house arrest in the Al Houthi-held capital Sana’a in February.
The following month, he fled into exile as militants and their allies entered Aden, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to launch a military intervention in support of his internationally recognised government.
Hadi’s return to Aden is the second time since Iran-allied Al Houthi militias forced him to flee to Saudi Arabia in March.
His return to Aden in September lasted only few hours and it is not clear how long he will stay in Aden this time.
The coalition sent ground troops to Yemen in early August after months of air strikes.
It has deployed significant reinforcements for the advance on Taiz, Yemen’s third city, military officials have said.
There are loyalist troops inside the city but they are besieged by Al Houthi militants.
Yemeni forces and their coalition allies pushed north towards Taiz overnight, capturing the village of Waziaa, southwest of the city, military sources said.
Taiz has witnessed fierce battles between Al Houthi militants and resistance fighters that has killed around 1,600 people. More than 5,000 Yemenis have been killed in battles across the country since the conflict escalated in March when a Saudi-led coalition launched a military campaign to liberate Yemen from Al Houthi control.
On Tuesday, the Saudi-led Arab coalition supporting Hadi continued their raids on the city, according to residents.
Further south, coalition fighters advanced towards Rahida, the province’s second-largest city, following fierce clashes at nearby Shuraija, a military source said.
Loyalist forces deployed in Dhubab advanced towards the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, an army officer said. “They are 30 kilometres away from Mocha,” he said.
The fighting, which has been accompanied by Saudi-led air strikes, has left 26 Al Houthi militants and 33 resistance fighters dead since Monday, a Yemeni military sources said.
A 400-strong Sudanese force arrived in Aden this month in support of loyalist forces, joining 500 who arrived in October.
Sudanese forces from the strategic Al Anad airbase in Lahej were taking part in the Taiz operations, sources said Monday.
The fighting has thrown into question UN-brokered peace talks that had been planned for later this month.
A UN bid to launch peace talks in June failed over demands for an Al Houthi withdrawal from seized territory, but this time, much effort has been put into ensuring there is agreement in advance on the agenda.
In Aden, life was returning to normal. Ministry offices and universities are open and people are going to work. Diesel and fuel are available for transportation and cars.
“I just came back from the foreign ministry office to do some personal paper work,” said Al Rubei. “There are proper security measures in place,” he said.
Arab forces regained control over Aden in July, but Al Houthis are still in control of Taiz and Sana’a.
The president will be staying at the Maashiq presidential palace in the central Crater district of Aden.
The palace was severely damaged in the fighting that gripped Aden until July but was recently repaired by the UAE, which along with Saudi Arabia is taking a lead role in supporting Hadi’s government.
— With inputs from AFP
