Aden is a port city in Yemen. The Sunni Muslims (Saudi Arabia) and Shia Muslims (Iran) have been fighting a proxy war there.
Sunni and Shia hate each other and will fight until the end of time.
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fled to Aden, his hometown, in February 2015 after being deposed in the coup d'état that many consider to be the start of the Yemeni civil war. Others consider that the civil war began in September 2014 when Houthi forces took over the capital city Sana'a, which was followed by a rapid Houthi takeover of the government.
Hadi declared in Aden that he was still Yemen's legitimate president and called on state institutions and loyal officials to relocate to Aden. [24] In a televised speech on 21 March 2015, he declared Aden to be Yemen's "economic and temporary capital" while Sana'a is controlled by the Houthis. [25]
Aden was hit by violence in the aftermath of the coup d'état, with forces loyal to Hadi clashing with those loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in a battle for Aden International Airport on 19 March 2015. [26] After the airport battle, the entire city became a battleground for the Battle of Aden, which left large parts of the city in ruins and has killed at least 198 people since 25 March 2015. [27]
On 14 July 2015, the Saudi Arabian Army launched an offensive to win control of the city. Within three days, the city was cleared of Houthi rebels, ending the Battle of Aden with a coalition victory. [28]
Beginning on 28 January 2018, separatists loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) seized control of the Yemeni government headquarters in Aden in a coup d'état against the Hadi-led government. [29] [30]
The next day, President of the STC Aidarus al-Zoubaidi announced a state of emergency in Aden and that "the STC has begun the process of overthrowing Hadi's rule over the South". [31]
On 1 August 2019, General Munir Al Yafi the serving commander of the STC was killed in a Houthi-missile strike alongside dozens of Yemeni soldiers in a military camp in western Aden. [32] Later that month, the STC took control of Aden, and in April 2020 they declared self-rule. [33]
On 30 December 2020, the undersecretary of labour and deputy minister of public works were killed along with between 20 and 30 others at the Aden airport while they conducted an international press briefing about their new arrangements with the STC, which includes the partition of forces inside Aden, as they returned from hiding in the Saudi capital. Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, his ministers and his entourage were conducted to safety under the barrage of hostile fire. [33] [34] |
