Yemen’s Hadi Returns to Aden, Vows to Oversee Taiz Attacks

53 Killed as Fighting Picks Up in Southwest

Pro-Saudi Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has once again returned to the southern city of Aden, his temporary “capital,” and his office says he intends to oversee the military offensive against Taiz, following weeks of predicted victory in the area.

Despite continued claims of “progress” in the Taiz offensive, the city and surrounding province remain disputed, and again today heavy fighting left 53 people killed, including 8 civilians, 25 pro-Hadi fighters, and 20 pro-Houthi fighters. Several airstrikes were reported.

The Houthis were mostly killed in airstrikes, as were the civilians, while the Hadi fighters, dubbed “mercenaries” by pro-Houthi outlets, were killed in an ambush at one of their military camps by Houthi forces, backed by the Yemeni military.

The camp was apparently set as a trap, with explosives planted around the area and the tents abandoned, they quickly moved against the invading Hadi forces, detonating explosives and quickly routing them.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.