Yemen president criticizes explusions from Aden

Aden — Yemen’s president has criticized what he called the “unacceptable” expulsion from Aden of hundreds of people originating from the north. “The individual acts of expelling citizens of Taiz and other cities (from Aden) is unacceptable,” President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi said late Sunday, quoted by the official sabanew.net website. Taiz, he added, was of strategic importance to Aden. Located in the southwest, Taiz was historically part of northern Yemen, whose residents are viewed as occupiers by many inhabitants of Aden and other provinces in the formerly independent south. Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said acts by “dozens do not necessitate in any case expelling hundreds” of northerners from the city, describing the move as “harsh collective punishment against a group of citizens.” Yemen has been torn by deadly conflict since Iran-backed Houthi rebels descended from their northern strongholds and seized the capital Sanaa and other parts of the country since September 2014. In March last year, pro-government forces and southern fighters backed by a Saudi-led military coalition drove the rebels out of southern regions, including Aden. Pro-government activists and coalition commanders say that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has allied with the Houthis, is backing terrorists to carry out attacks against Hadi’s loyalists. Bin Dagher called for improvements in security for Aden, and appealed against the “punishment” of other people. The prime minister said Aden’s governor and its security chief needed to “control the actions of all services that operate under their command.” These acts were “unconstitutional and illegal” as well as against “basic human rights.” Bin Dagher also appealed for those who have been expelled to “return to practising their normal lives” and ordered authorities in the city to protect them, sabanew.net reported. — AFP