On Wednesday, security officials said, a large airport explosion struck the southern Yemeni city of Aden. Shortly after, a plane carrying the newly formed Saudi-backed cabinet landed there, leaving multiple people killed and many more injured.
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According to the Associated Press, there were at least 25 died on the spot, and around 110 were wounded from the airport explosion. Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed has condemned as "treacherous" and "cowardly" the deadly Aden airport explosion.
Abdulmalik Saeed said, "This treacherous, cowardly, and terrorist attack, places the government at the heart of its responsibilities, which is the task of ending the coup, restoring the state, spreading stability and the recovery of our country."
The blast source is not yet exact, though, and no group or rebels have responded or commented or claimed responsibility for the airport explosion. However, the Yemeni government claimed Iran-backed Houthi rebels shot four ballistic missiles at Aden airport and that no one on the government plane was hurt.
The same news agency said that Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed claimed that government members were left unchanged. Still, a local news outlet, Aden al-Ghad, reported that at least one junior official was killed in the airport explosion, and several other officials were wounded.
Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies journalist and researcher said, "Of course, when we heard the first explosion, we tried to understand what was happening, we were confused about whether it was an explosive or a drone or a rocket." He trusts that the airport explosion was likely the result of a missile attack. He added, "Most of us were terrified and confused because we didn't know what was happening or where the threat was coming from. So, people were running and attempting to escape the danger."
The International Committee of the Red Cross said three of its staff members were among the dead.
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The new government is the result of an agreement made between Saudi-backed forces and southern separatists who wanted to be united in their fight against the Houthi rebels, who control much of northern Yemen.
In a televised statement, Saeed said, "The hand of terror will not stop us from performing our tasks."
Around Aden's Maasheq presidential palace, a second explosion was heard, where the cabinet members, including Prime Minister Abdulmalik and the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, had been taken to safely, hours after the attack, residents and local media said.
Yemen's Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani held responsible for the airport explosion on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis denied responsibility for the attack, though.
Currently, the Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, Mahjoob Zweiri, said that Yemen suffers from a "serious security vacuum" with the airport explosion as the sign.
Zweiri told Al Jazeera, "This is a strong indicator that there is a serious security vacuum in Yemen and that it will not be filled only through a political process. It is clear that there is a need to have a strong military, so they can help stabilize the political process. If you look at the number of personnel in the Yemeni armed forces, optimistic experts say they cannot exceed 120,000 in the whole of Yemen, some of whom have not been paid in months."
