Wednesday, March 25, 2015
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s embattled president fled his palace in the southern port city of Aden for an undisclosed location on Wednesday as Shiite rebels offered a bounty for his capture and arrested his defense minister. Hours later, the rebels launched airstrikes targeting presidential forces guarding the palace.
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi left just hours after the rebels’ own television station said they seized an air base where U.S. troops and Europeans advised the country in its fight against al-Qaida militants. That air base is only 60 kilometers (35 miles) away from Aden, where Hadi had established a temporary capital.
The advance of the Shiite rebels, empowered by the backing of the ousted Yemeni autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh and his loyalists, threatens to plunge the Arab world’s poorest country into a civil war that could draw in its Gulf neighbors. Already, Hadi has asked the United Nations to authorize a foreign military intervention in the country.
The takeover of Aden, the country’s economic hub, would mark the collapse of what is left of Hadi’s grip on power. It would also open a new chapter in the Houthi-Saleh alliance and possibly pave the way for more infighting.
Aden was tense Wednesday, with schools, government offices, shops and restaurants largely closed. Inside the few remaining opened cafes, men watched the news on television.
Since the morning, there were conflicting reports on Hadi’s whereabouts. Witnesses said they saw a convoy of presidential vehicles leaving Hadi’s palace on top of a hill overlooking the Arabian Sea. A second convoy was seen heading to the Aden airport, where flights have been halted amid the Houthi advance.
Military officials said militias and military units loyal to Hadi had “fragmented,” speeding the rebel advance. They said the rebels were fighting Hadi’s troops on five different fronts Wednesday.
Presidential officials said Hadi was in an operations room overseeing his forces’ response. They declined to say where that facility was located. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Yemen’s state TV, now controlled by the Houthis, made an offer of nearly $100,000 for Hadi’s capture.
Also Wednesday, Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mahmoud al-Subaihi and his top aide were arrested in the southern city of Lahj, where fighting with Houthi forces was ongoing, and were subsequently transferred to Sanaa.