Clashes continue in Yemen city of Aden

Houthi emblem or quasi-flag

Op-Ed: The BBC reports that Houthi rebels allied with troops loyal to ex-president Saleh have made gains in their attack on the southern port city of Aden, in spite of continued Saudi bombings. The Saudis also dropped weapons for those fighting the rebels.

The coalition mounting the air attacks have given permission for the Red Cross to bring aid into Yemen allowing two planes to land in the capital Sanaa including a cargo plane carrying vital military aid and a small passenger plane carrying aid workers. The Red Cross also called for a 24 hour ceasefire in the southern city of Aden.

A spokesperson for the Red Cross, Marie Feghali said that bodies were beginning to pile up in the streets. There was no water as water pipes had been damaged, and people were unable to go out to get food because of the clashes. The rebels are said to have advanced further into the city yesterday and several buildings had been set on fire. People were trapped in their homes due to the fighting and they were unable to flee the city. The Health Department reported at least 185 killed and 1,282 injured since the 26th of March in Aden. This toll does not even include casualties among the rebels or victims of air raids. The UN estimates the toll at 500 over the last two weeks.

Many countries have been flying out their citizens. There have been flights from Pakistan, and flights from China, Egypt, Sudan, and Djibouti are scheduled. Russia, India and Indonesia are also among the countries flying out citizens. The internationally supported president of Yemen Mansour Hadi fled to the safety of Riyadh some time ago. There is a report that the ex-president Ali Saleh who is allied with the Houthis has also fled the country on a Russian plane. This report comes from president Hadi and his allies so it perhaps should be taken with a grain of salt. The information came via way of Yemen Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin.

Yassin also urged former officials who had left the government or defected to support Hadi and the Houthis to return and support Hadi or they would regret it.

Yassin praised the Saudi arms drops in Aden and said: "The legitimate government of Yemen is today optimistic regarding the fighting around Aden, particularly after the pro-Hadi Popular Committees received military support and have been able to resist the Houthi advance there.

The people of Aden have carried out a major effort in heroically stopping the rebel advance and we are in control of most territory there.

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At the present time, we are not calling for a ground advance inside Yemen, but rather assistance for the Popular Committees in terms of arms, to allow them to defeat the rebellion against legitimate President Haditha Houthis are not capable of defeating Yemen’s tribes; they are running out of arms, while Saleh has begun to betray them. Therefore, what we need is arms to repel Houthi aggression."

Hassin may be giving an overly optimistic view since western media reports claim that the Houthis are actually advancing in Aden in spite of the bombing and there is no reported desertion of Saleh loyalists to the Hadi cause although that may happen eventually.

Adam Schiff, a Democratic Representative from California of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence noted that Al Qaeda (AQAP) was resurging in the chaos. Last week AQAP even seized Mukalla, the capital of a province.

They released at least 300 inmates from the local jail including many of their own members some of them key figures.

For some time the US had touted Yemen as a success story after having their choice become an elected president--with no opponent?

Hadi forces guided by Americans mounted an offensive against AQAP that cleared them out of territory they had held for some time. However, there have been constant guerrilla attacks since in spite of a continuing drone program. Now with the Houthi rebel takeover this is all lost and AQAP is forging alliances with Sunni tribes against the Houthis.