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Arab Coalition Forces Restore Order at Aden International Airport after Clashes | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A Saudi soldier stands guard at the international airport of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, July 24, 2015. Two Saudi aircraft landed at Aden bringing equipment needed to re-open the city’s airport four months after the Yemeni civil war shut it down. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser


Aden- A state of calm returned to Aden’s airport, in the interim capital of Yemen, after clashes erupted on Wednesday between two factions of the forces charged with protecting the security of the airport.

Forces directed by coalition forces stepped in to stop clashes between airport security forces, on the one hand, and forces loyal to another military commander, a Yemeni military commander told Asharq Al-Awsat.

One combatant was killed and the fighting ended when other forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition intervened.

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr had reviewed post-clashes developments at the airport with Arab Coalition Brigadier General Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed.

The airport was scheduled to receive various flights early-on Thursday, meaning coalition forces had to swiftly intervene and reinforce order, reinstating airport security, PM Daghr said.

The prime minister’s bureau issued a statement stressing the need to avoid shedding more blood in the airport infighting between the forces backing airport commander Saleh al-Omari and forces backing his deputy al-Khodr Kurdah.

“The coalition commander told the prime minister that the coalition forces tried to intervene to prevent the fighting from escalating after it had already resulted in the death of a security member and the injury of many,” the statement said.

“Kurdah refused the request for calm, prompting coalition forces to step in and issue a serious warning against both parties, ordering them to abandon arms and exit the premise,” it added.

Later on, Aden’s security service announced that it had officially regained full supervision over the Aden International Airport.

“The situation at the airport is calm now. Forces of the Arab coalition forces backed by local security units are now fully in control of the airport,” Aden police spokesman Abdul Rahman al-Naqib was quoted as saying.

The security chiefs who caused the security situation on Wednesday handed themselves over to the authorities.

Naqib also named Major General Shalal Ali Shaya as the new security chief assigned with supervising, securing and protecting the Aden International Airport.