Yemen’s prime minister on Saturday said that a missile attack on the airport in Aden on Wednesday was meant “to eliminate” the country’s new government as it arrived in the key southern city — a daring assault which he blamed on Iran-backed rebels.
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed made the comment in interview at his office in the Mashiq Palace in Aden, his first with international media after surviving the attack that killed at least 25 people and wounded 110.
“It’s a major terrorist attack that was meant to eliminate the government,” the premier said. “It was a message against peace and stability in Yemen.”
Saeed repeated his government’s accusations that Yemen’s Houthi rebels were responsible for the missile attack on the airport and a drone assault on the palace, shortly after the prime minister and his Cabinet were transferred there.
The new government was formed last month to end a dangerous political rift with southern separatists who are backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The internal rift threatened the emirates’ partnership with Saudi Arabia that is fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
Saeed said that the “techniques” used in the airport missile attack were hallmarks of the Houthis’ strategy.
Houthi officials have denied being behind the attack, and sought to blame unspecified groups in the Saudi-led coalition.
However, the Houthis have carried out similar attacks in the past, including a missile attack last year on a military parade of a militia loyal to the UAE at a base in Aden, and a 2015 missile attack on an Aden hotel used by the government.
Wednesday’s attack took place just moments after a plane carrying Saeed and his Cabinet members landed at the airport.
Saeed said three precision-guided missiles had struck the facility, targeting his plane, the arrival hall and the VIP lounge of the airport.
“The guidance accuracy was great. The operation was huge,” he said.
Yemeni investigators have collected the remains of the missiles and that experts from the Saudi-led coalition and the US would help determine the type and origins of the missiles, he said.
Saeed said that his government would prioritize “security and stability” in government-held areas after months of infighting between Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, an umbrella group of militias seeking to restore an independent southern Yemen that existed from 1967 until unification in 1990.
“Whatever the challenges in Aden, the government remains,” he said.
He also pointed to “huge” economic challenges as being the focus of his government.
Aden’s airport was expected to reopen yesterday, Yemeni Minister of Transport Abdel-Salam Hamied announced on Saturday while visiting the facility.
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