ADEN – At least 26 people were killed yesterday as explosions rocked Yemen’s Aden airport moments after a new unity government flew in, in what some officials charged was a “cowardly” attack by Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
Although all government ministers were reported to be unharmed, more than 50 people were wounded, medical and government sources said in the southern city, with the casualty toll feared likely to rise.
Doctors Without Borders said it was preparing a “mass casualty medical response plan”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said one of its employees was among those confirmed dead and “two others are unaccounted for and three were injured”.
As smoke billowed out of the airport terminal from an initial blast, with debris strewn across the area and people rushing to tend to the wounded, a second explosion took place.
Video footage appears to show missile-like ordnance striking the airport apron, which moments before had been packed with crowds, and exploding into a ball of intense flames.
It was not immediately clear what had caused the explosions.
Yesterday evening, an explosion was heard near the presidential palace here.
The Saudi-led coalition said: “A Huthi drone which attempted to target Al-Masheeq Palace was... shot down.”
Yemen’s internationally recognised government and southern separatists formed a power-sharing cabinet on December 18, forging a joint front against the Huthi rebels who have seized Sanaa and much of the country’s north.
“Too soon” to lay blame
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said all members of the new government had escaped unharmed from the blast, which he blamed on the Huthi rebels.
“We assure you that the cowardly terrorist attack by the Iran-supported Huthi militia will not deter us from carrying out our patriotic duty,” he tweeted.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Mubarak also blamed the rebels, but President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi held back.
“The terrorist acts perpetrated by the Iranian-backed Huthi militia and extremist terrorist groups will not discourage the legitimate government from exercising their duties,” Hadi said, without specifying who he held responsible for the airport attack.
Government spokesman Rajih Badi called for an international investigation.
“It is too soon to accuse any party before an investigation reveals who executed the attack, including (accusing) the Huthis,” he said, adding that among the casualties were civilians, security guards and local officials. – AFP, December 31, 2020
