Al Mukalla: The son of Yemen’s exiled president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has returned to the strategic port city of Aden, amid strong speculation that Hadi is on his way to Yemen after six months in Saudi Arabia.
Local officials said that Nasser, who is also the head of his father’s special guard, has reportedly arrived in Aden to assess security situation amid reports that Al Qaida and local militias are wreaking havoc nearly a couple of months after the defeat of the rebel Al Houthis and their allied forces.
“Nasser is setting the stage for the return of his father. Rumours say that they will perform Eid prayers in Aden,” a government official who knows Nasser told Gulf News on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media. The first day of Eid Al Adha will fall on September 24.
“Nasser is practically responsible for security of his father. He used to show up in the presidential palace in Sana’a in a military uniform,” the official said.
The democratically elected and internationally recognised president was forced into exile in Saudi Arabia after Al Houthis raided in March his new base in the city of Aden. The rebels overthrew Hadi in February and replaced him with an affiliate Revolutionary Committee.
A coalition of some Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily in Yemen in March by bombing Al Houthi military sites across the country. The chief objective of the coalition’s operations was reinstalling the government of president Hadi and defanging Al Houthis power.
In Aden, some Yemen observers have recently raised fresh doubts about whether pro-Hadi security forces are capable of restoring peace and security amid growing discontent among some fighters over months of unpaid wages. In the last three days, many people who fought alongside Hadi’s forces blocked roads to the government’s new headquarters in Aden and set fire to garbage, demanding salaries.
But Brigadier General Mohammad Mousaed, the chief of security of Aden, downplayed concerns about security situation in Aden, saying that the protests would come to an end when the government pays the dues and the city is ripe for Hadi’s return.
“People are protesting because they do not have money and Eid is soon,” he told Gulf News by telephone.
“In my capacity as the head of security in Aden, I can say for sure that the city is all set to receive the legitimate president of Yemen. There are neither gangs nor terrorist organisations [here].”
Mousaed has refused to give a defined date for Hadi’s return but said that he would come back “soon”.
Khalid Bahah, Yemen vice-president and prime minister, and some members of his cabinet returned to Aden on Wednesday after months of operating from the Saudi capital. The return was seen as an indication to improving security in the city.
