CAIRO (AP) – The Prime Minister of Yemen said on Saturday that a rocket attack on Aden airport was meant to “eliminate” the country’s new government when it arrived in the key southern city – a bold attack that blamed on Iran-backed rebels.
Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed spoke to The Associated Press in an interview at his office in Mashiq Palace in Aden. It was the leader’s first interview with the international press after surviving Wednesday’s attack, which killed at least 25 people and injured 110 others.
“It is a major terrorist attack that was meant to overthrow the government,” the prime minister said. “It was a message against peace and stability in Yemen.”
Saeed reiterated his government’s allegations that Yemen’s Houthi rebels were responsible for the rocket attack at the airport and the drone attack on the palace shortly after the prime minister and his cabinet were transferred there.
The new Yemeni government was formed in December to end a dangerous political rift with southern separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates. The internal rift has threatened the UAE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia, which is fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
Saeed said the “techniques” used in the rocket attack at the airport were hallmarks of the Houthis strategy.
Houthi officials denied being behind the attack, but sought to blame unspecified groups in the Saudi-led coalition. The rebel leaders did not provide any evidence or respond to requests for comment.
Houthis have carried out similar attacks in the past. In 2015, former Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and members of his cabinet survived a rocket attack, accused Houthis of hitting a government-used Aden hotel. Last year, the Houthis fired a rocket at a military parade of a loyal UAE militia at a base in Aden, killing dozens.
attack took place moments after a plane carrying Saeed and his cabinet members landed at the airport. AP footage from the site at Aden Airport showed members of the government delegation disembarking as the blast shook the asphalt, many ministers rushed back inside the plane or ran up the stairs, seeking shelter.
Saeed said three precision-guided missiles hit the facility, targeting his plane, the arrival hall and the airport’s VIP lounge.
“The accuracy of the guidance was great. The operation was huge, “he said.
The prime minister said Yemeni investigators had collected the remnants of the missiles and that experts from the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United States would help determine the type and origin of the missiles.
Saeed and his newly formed cabinet were returning to Yemen a week after taking the oath before Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, where the attacked leader is.
Cabinet remodeling was part of a power-sharing agreement between Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia, and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, an umbrella group of militias that wanted to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed from 1967 until unification in 1990.
Saeed, the prime minister, said his government would prioritize “security and stability” in government-controlled areas after months of fighting between Hadi’s government and the STC.
“Regardless of the challenges in Aden, the government remains,” he said.
He also highlighted the “huge” economic challenges as the center of his government.
The conflict in the poorest nation in the Arab world began when the Houthis conquered the capital Sanaa in 2014, forcing Hadi’s government to flee.
The following year, the Saudi-led coalition intervened against Iran-backed rebels in what turned into a stalemate. Since then, more than 112,000 people – fighters and civilians – have been killed.
Aden Airport is expected to reopen on Sunday, Transport Minister Abdel-Salam Hamied announced during a visit to the facility.