Yemen airport shut after attack threat

The Yemeni capital’s airport was shut down on Saturday after forces loyal to a fired general close to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh encircled it and threatened to shoot down planes, an airport official said. “No aircraft has taken off or landed since these forces made their threat late on Friday,” said the official, adding that the troops surrounding the airport were backed by members of the Hamdan tribe that supports former strongman Saleh. Another official said nine international and seven domestic departing flights had been cancelled, while three incoming Yemenia Airways flights were diverted to the main southern city Aden. The airport has been encircled by forces loyal to air force chief General Mohammed Saleh Al Ahmar, Saleh’s half-brother, who has refused to step down after being sacked by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the source said. The men were led by Naji Jamaan, a Hamdan tribal chief, the source added. A military official said later on Saturday that Saleh’s half-brother was “still present at the air force base in Sanaa protected by Republican Guard troops” commanded by Saleh’s son Ahmed. Gulf Cooperation Council chief Abdullatif Al Zayani, who led mediation efforts to convince Saleh to step down, said the six-nation group “supports” Hadi and “backs all measures he takes to help Yemen exit its current crisis.” Zayani “urged all political power players in Yemen and all those involved to support the Yemeni president to move forward in implementing the principles stipulated by the Gulf initiative.” In a statement on Thursday, the Security Council expressed “concern at the recent deterioration in cooperation among political actors and the risks this poses to the transition.” It called on all sides in Yemen “to remain committed to the political transition, constitutional order, to play a constructive role in the process and to reject violence.” The council also expressed “strong concern about intensified terrorist attacks, including by Al Qaeda, within Yemen.” Ahmar, in a message to his troops, has refused to go unless the defence minister and other senior officials also step down, a military source said. He also demanded that several members of the powerful Hashed tribe, which backed defectors during last year’s anti-regime protests, be forced into exile. In addition to Ahmar, Hadi on Friday also fired Saleh’s nephew, General Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, who heads the presidential guard.