Yemeni PM returns to Aden from Saudi exile: Source

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Yemens Prime Minister Khaled Bahah
Yemen's Prime Minister Khaled Bahah

Aden - Bahah fled into exile with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi when the rebels entered Aden.

By AFP

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Published: Sat 1 Aug 2015, 1:39 PM

Last updated: Sat 1 Aug 2015, 6:24 PM

Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah flew into the devastated port of Aden from Saudi exile Saturday, two weeks after loyalist forces ousted Shiite rebels from the city, an airport source said.
He was followed by several more officials, whose task will be to restore normality and public services to a city battered by four months of combat.
Bahah, who is also vice president of the internationally recognised government, fled into exile with President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and the rest of his team earlier this year when the rebels entered Aden, their last refuge.
Impoverished Yemen has been rocked by fighting between the Houthi rebels and Hadi loyalists, who have received air support from a Saudi-led coalition.
The United Nations say the war has killed nearly 4,000 people, half of them civilians, while 80 per cent of the 21million-population is in need of aid and protection.
On Monday, a humanitarian pause declared by the coalition went into effect but it collapsed the next day.
An airport source said Bahah arrived on a Saudi military plane, becoming the highest-ranking official to return to the city since the government announced its liberation in mid-July.
Bahah promised in an arrival statement that "normal life" would return to a "liberated Aden" and that he would be visiting people wounded in the fighting.
Sources close to the prime minister said he would spend a few hours in Aden before leaving for an undisclosed destination.
UAE to the rescue
The head of the Red Crescent in Aden, Ahmed Mansur, told AFP the charity had received food aid from the United Arab Emirates and was able to hand out 20,000 rations to residents of three neighbourhoods.
Yemen depends on imports for most of its supplies, including food, medicine and fuel.
More than 10 million are struggling to obtain food and water, the UN says.
An AFP correspondent who toured Aden said authorities have managed to partially reopen main roads in the city after removing debris from the war, including burned out military vehicles and cars.
Residents have also ventured outdoors to take stock of the damage.


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