Sana’a: A Yemeni government spokesman said Thursday that the Saudi ambassador to Yemen will re-base his mission to the southern city of Aden, an apparent snub to the newly dominant Shi’ite Houthi faction controlling the capital Sana’a.
Saudi Arabia joined Western states earlier this month in evacuating its embassy in Sana’a following a power grab by the Iranian-backed Al Houthis, viewed with suspicion by most Gulf states.
The envoy’s move to Aden underlines Saudi support for the embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi who fled to Aden last week after Al Houthis forced him to step down and held him under house arrest in Sana’a for a month.
But with Hadi gone, Al Houthis, whose fighters now control large parts of Yemen, have been struggling to form a new government, and Hadi is seeking to set up a rival power centre in Aden with loyalist army units and tribes.
“The Saudi ambassador returned to Aden yesterday, together with the Gulf Cooperation Council secretary-general and began today to pursue his mission officially in Aden,” said Rajeh Badi, a spokesman for Hadi’s government.
Ambassadors from the other Gulf Arab countries would follow suit in the coming days, Badi said.
The splitting of Yemen into two sides with rival seats of power competing for control could be a further step towards civil war.
