[News] Yemen war: Explosions at Aden airport as new government arrives

[Sxynix]

 

Explosions have rocked the airport in Yemen's port city of Aden soon after a plane carrying the new government arrived from Saudi Arabia.

At least five people were killed and dozens more wounded, a security source told Reuters.

PM Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and cabinet members reportedly escaped unharmed and were taken to a presidential palace.

The information minister said the blasts were the result of a "cowardly terrorist attack" by Houthi rebels.

How Covid-19 spread in a war zone
'I used to not worry about being attacked'
Mr Saeed's new cabinet was formed in an effort to heal a serious rift between forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).

They are supposed to be allies in the civil war against the Houthi movement, which controls the capital Sanaa and much of north-western Yemen.

Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states launched a military operation to defeat the Houthis and restore President Hadi's rule.

The fighting has reportedly left more than 100,000 people dead; triggered the world's worst humanitarian disaster, with millions on the brink of famine; and left the country even more vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic.