Al Mukalla: Yemen’s Prime Minister Ahmad Bin Daghar led other seniors officials of the government back to the port city of Aden on Thursday in a move aimed at addressing the pressing needs of liberated provinces and supporting military operations against Al Houthis in northern Yemen.
Officials said that the government’s return to Aden is “permanent” and would focus on reviving vital public services like electricity and paying unpaid salaries of government staff in the liberated areas.
Despite expelling Al Houthis and Al Qaida from southern provinces, including Aden, Marib and Jawf, most of the cabinet ministers had stayed back in the Saudi capital for months.
Foreign minister Abdul Malik Al Mikhlafi said on Wednesday that the government was forced to run the liberated cities from Riyadh since the war with Al Houthis had placed heavy demands on forces loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and also because Al Qaida attacks had ruined major buildings like hotels and palaces in the major cities.
“Al Houthis’ war against Yemenis, their coup and invasion of provinces have destroyed the infrastructure. Aden [for instance] has experienced mass destruction; all hotels, police stations, schools, government facilities were knocked down. This has hampered the government’s return,” Al Mikhlafi said in an interview with the Saudi daily Al Hayat.
Yemen’s government, backed by the Arab coalition, has reestablished control on many provinces including the once-lawless Aden after mounting military campaigns against groups affiliated to Al Qaida and Daesh.
In the same interview, Al Mikhlafi said that his government anticipated retaliatory strikes by Al Houthis with the government deciding to relocate the country’s central bank to Aden and would give a befitting reply to any such provocation.
Officials said that the Al Houthis were also likely to deny salaries to public servants residing in the government-controlled areas.
Al Mikhlafi signalled that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund had expressed their concerns over the impact of the government’s decision on the general public. “President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi would discuss this issue with the heads of IMF and World Bank in the coming days. The decree was put into effect and the world must understand that is a sovereign decision and was necessary to put an end to the war and the irresponsible militia’s mismanagement of the economy,” he said.
Al Mikhlafi added that the internationally recognised government would accept Al Houthis as partners if they laid down their arms and turned their movement into a political party.
On the issue of Iran’s military support for the rebels, he said that the government was considering filing an official complaint with the UN over Iran’s clandestine arms shipments that continued to stoke the conflict in Yemen.
