UAE accused of banning Yemeni President from returning to Aden

Yemen’s Interior Minister, Ahmed Al-Maseeri, has accused the UAE of banning President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi from returning to Aden, the temporary capital of his country, Thenewkhaliji.org reported on Friday.

Speaking to French radio, Al-Maseeri said that the “conflict” between Hadi and the authorities in the UAE is “sharp,” noting that Hadi’s presence in Aden has suddenly “become undesirable” to Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia is trying to calm the situation in order to keep Hadi alive given the bad security situation in Aden.

The minister warned of the negative effect that the differences between the UAE and the legitimate Yemeni government will have on the military operations against the Houthis.

Read: Outgoing minister accuses Arab coalition of obstructing legitimate government work in Yemen

Last month, two Yemeni ministers resigned in protest against the UAE’s ban on Hadi’s return to Aden. Protesters in Yemen also took to the streets in Taiz calling for their President, who has been living in exile in Riyadh since March 2015, along with a number of his ministers, although he has visited Aden several times.

In February last year, Hadi left Aden after clashes between forces loyal to him and the head of security at Aden International Airport, who is loyal to the UAE. According to Associated Press, Yemeni officials said last month that Hadi, his two sons and a number of ministers have been under house arrest in Saudi Arabia due to the “bitter” conflict between the President and the UAE, which controls the south of Yemen and is part of the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis.