Al Mukalla: Senior officials from various international humanitarian bodies arrived on Monday in the Yemeni port city of Aden, the temporary capital of the country and base of the internationally recognised government, to assess humanitarian needs of the liberated provinces.
On Sunday, at his meeting with Stephen O’Brien, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi urged UN bodies to expand their humanitarian missions in Yemen based from the peaceful Aden city, adding that his government has paid all public servants in all provinces including those who reside inside Saada, the Al Houthi heartland.
Hadi on Monday landed in Abu Dhabi to meet Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to discuss current military operations in Yemen.
Saba news agency quoted the UN official as praising the security and stability in Aden. O’Brien posted on his official Twitter account photos of him and his team visiting homes destroyed during the Al Houthi occupation of Aden, hospitals and other health care facilities supported by the UN.
On February 25, the Yemeni president met in Aden with Robert Mardini, regional director of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) for humanitarian operations across the Middle East. Mardini also visited medical facilities in Aden operated by the ICRC.
Due to deteriorating security in the past, international aid organisations had long been reluctant to send staff to Aden, fearing attacks by the Al Qaida or Daesh affiliates. Government security services have managed to secure the strategic city after deploying their forces in all districts and ejecting the militant groups from neighbouring provinces like Abyan and Lahj. The improving security situation prompted Hadi and his government to return home after months in exile.
On the ground, fighting between government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition and Al Houthi fighters raged in small coastal regions north of the Red Sea town of Mokha. Army commanders said their forces were fighting their way towards Khokha, a small coastal town in Hodeida province, under intensive air strikes by the coalition’s warplanes. The aim of the current military operation that was launched early last month is liberating the entire western coast including Hodeida.
