Five People Dead, 40 Missing in Yemen's Socotra After Cyclone
Five people were killed and at least 40 missing on the Yemeni island of Socotra on Friday as Cyclone Mekunu pummelled the area then made its way towards the Arabian Peninsula's southern coast.The five dead included four Yemenis and one Indian national, residents and medical sources told Reuters, while the missing including Yemenis, Indians and Sudanese.Yemen declared a state of emergency on Thursday for Socotra, which lies between southern Yemen and the Horn of Africa and is renowned for its unique animal and plant life.Largely untouched by Yemen's three-year-old war, it is under the control of the internationally-recognised government whose president…
Saudi-led Coalition: Air Strikes Keep Port Open
More than 10,000 people killed in Yemeni conflict. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Wednesday it would keep Yemen's Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port open for a month, despite a fresh missile attack at Riyadh, but it kept up air strikes that killed at least nine people. The Western-backed coalition, which controls Yemen's airspace and port access, said last month it would allow humanitarian aid through Hodeidah following a nearly three-week blockade imposed because of a missile attack towards the Saudi capital's international airport. The Saudis say the Red Sea port, which is Yemen's main entry point for food and humanitarian supplies, is also a hub used by the Iran-allied Houthi rebels to bring in weapons.
Thirty-five People Rescued from Ferry that Sank off Yemen
At least 35 of the 64 people who were on a ferry that sank off Yemen have been rescued, a Yemeni minister said on Wednesday. Rescue teams continued to look for survivors from the boat that was en route from Hadramout province in mainland Yemen to the island of Socotra, Fisheries Minister Fahad Kaffen said on his Facebook page. Socotra and Hadramout are under the control of the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is in a war with the Houthis who control most of northern Yemen. The Aden al-Ghad news website said the ship was believed to have suffered an accident and authorities at Hadramout's Mukalla port lost contact with it on Tuesday evening. It sank 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Socotra, an archipelago some 380 km south of mainland Yemen.
Diversion of Yemen Aid Ships Spreads Fear
Residents in the Yemeni capital Sanaa are stocking up on rare food and fuel supplies after the government in exile decided to divert aid ships from the Houthi rebel-held north to loyalist areas farther south. Sources in Yemen's government confirmed the move, though there has been no official announcement, and Yemen's exiled information minister said on Tuesday that commercial flights would be diverted from the capital to the southern port of Aden. The decisions come as southern fighters backed by weapons and air strikes by neighbouring Gulf states have made rapid gains on southern battlefields against the Iran-allied Houthis. A Saudi-led alliance has been bombing Yemen's dominant group since March in support of the country's exiled leadership…
Saudi-backed Yemen Forces Take Aden Port
Saudi-backed Yemeni militiamen took over the main port of the southern city of Aden and the adjoining district of Mualla on Wednesday, residents and the fighters said, as part of an offensive against the country's dominant Houthi group. Local gunmen supported by a Saudi-led Arab coalition have been fighting for three months to try to oust Iran-allied Houthi forces who advanced into the city in March and April. (Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf
Cargo Ships Stuck off Yemen as Fighting Worsens Food Security
At least five merchant vessels carrying food are stuck off Yemen as warships from a Saudi-led coalition search them for weapons bound for Iran-allied Houthi rebel forces, with delays adding to a humanitarian crisis. Yemen imports more than 90 percent of its food, including most of its wheat and all its rice, to feed a population of 25 million. Much of its needs had been serviced by foreign ships, although shipping lines have now reduced or stopped port calls. Ship tracking data showed at least five cargo ships were anchored off Yemen unable to enter Yemeni waters. "Disruption of navigation in Yemen's territorial waters will adversely affect food security," U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said.
Warships Shell Houthis Outside Yemeni City of Aden
Warships shelled a column of Houthi fighters and troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh as they tried to advance on the southern port city of Aden on Monday, residents said, the first known report of naval forces taking part in the conflict. They said the vessels were believed to be Egyptian warships that sailed last week through the Suez Canal toward the Gulf of Aden. Egypt is a member of the Saudi-led coalition that has been targeting Houthi positions to stem their advance on Aden, a last foothold of fighters loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. No comment was immediately available from Egyptian officials. Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf
Port of Aden Under Threat with Enemy at the Gates
As Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies stage air strikes against Shi'ite Muslim militiamen threatening to topple Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the southern port city of Aden shudders from within. Hadi's supporters are fighting street battles with pockets of militiamen and allied army units who have penetrated the city's northern suburbs, with at least 16 dead in total. Rumours of Houthi sleeper cells abound and a curfew has been ordered to stop rampant looting. As Aden's security wobbles, the Arabs' intervention may have come too late to save their ally Hadi's last refuge. "The Houthis came at night, entered the camps and caused the army to defect," said Aseel, a Hadi supporter from the Popular Committees, standing guard at a roundabout in al-Mansoura district.
Yemen's Maarib Oil Pipeline Blown up Again
Reuters - Unidentified assailants blew up Yemen's Maarib oil pipeline on Monday night, halting crude flows to the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea, a local official said. The attack, in al-Damashqa area of the central oil-producing province of Maarib, caused a fire, the official said. Yemen, which relies on crude exports to finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered frequent bombings of its oil pipelines over the last three years. Tribesmen often carry out such attacks to pressure the government to create more jobs, settle land disputes, or free their relatives from prison. Before the spate of attacks began in 2011, the 270-mile pipeline carried around 110,000 barrels per day to Ras Isa.
