STC militias refuse to hand over Aden airport, threaten military escalation

ADEN, March 14 (YPA) – The Khormaksar district in the southern port city of Aden witnessed military tension following the failure of handing of Aden International Airport between the UAE-backed Southern Transitional council (STC) and military forces trained in Saudi Arabia, informed sources reported on Saturday.

According to the sources, Saudi Arabia pushed in early March troops trained in its territory to Aden to take over the tasks of securing Aden International Airport and to remove the transitional militia from it.

Moreover, Sources added that the UAE-backed transitional militia refused to hand over and threatened military confrontation unless this military force withdraws.

The sources explained that these forces withdrew after about five hours of besieging the airport, and returned to al-Buraiqeh District, while the STC militias deployed in the vicinity of the airport and created security points.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the Saudi foreign ministry called on Hadi government and the UAE-backed Council to implement the Riyadh accord, free from media squabbles.

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber said the kingdom is seeking to implement the Riyadh agreement, stressing that the STC enjoys the respect and appreciation of the Saudi leadership.

E.M