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| Arabia |
| Six dead as clashes shut airport in south Yemen |
| 2015-03-20 |
| [Al Ahram] Deadly festivities forced the closure of the international airport in Yemen's main southern city Aden on Thursday, where the conflict-ridden country's leader fled after militia forces seized the capital. At least six people were killed and 20 maimed after fierce fighting broke out between supporters and opponents of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, security sources said. The festivities erupted between a special forces unit loyal to the Shiite Huthi militia who have seized control of the capital and pro-Hadi paramilitary fighters, security sources said. The special forces, led by renegade General Abdel Hafez al-Saqqaf, met with heavy resistance from fighters with the Popular Committees, a local paramilitary group that backs Hadi. Several hundred soldiers backing Hadi -- supported by tanks and armoured vehicles -- were also dispatched as reinforcements to the airport. Three members of the special forces were killed and two from the Popular Committees, sources said. Another special forces member was killed in separate fighting in central Aden. The Hadi loyalists regained control of the airport early Thursday after several hours of fighting, a military source told AFP. Yemen, a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, has been gripped by unrest since ex-strongman President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... stepped down in early 2012 after a year-long popular uprising against his rule. Saleh -- along with Iran -- has been accused of backing the Huthis, who took control of Sanaa in September and earlier this year seized key government buildings in the capital. Hadi resigned after the rebels seized his palace and named a "presidential council" to rule the country and assume the powers of the presidency. Hadi was sent to his room in Sanaa but later resurfaced in Aden and retracted his resignation, despite being increasingly isolated in his southern Yemen power base. |
| Posted by:Fred |