Sana’a: Al Qaeda militants seized a provincial airport yesterday in war-wracked Yemen, where the jihadist network’s deadly local franchise has exploited growing instability to expand its foothold.
Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula now control almost all of Mukalla, a city of 200,000 and the capital of the southeast province of Hadramawt, including its airport.
Elsewhere in Hadramawt, tribal forces took control of a major oil terminal in Al Shihr after soldiers protecting it withdrew, a military source said.
The air raids have so far failed to beat back Houthis. The UN said that its envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, had resigned after failing to avert large-scale violence, dealing a blow to hopes of a diplomatic solution.
Overnight, coalition aircraft carried out fresh air strikes on rebel positions in Aden, killing at least eight rebels.
The World Health Organisation says at least 736 people died in the conflict up to April 12 and more than 2,700 had been wounded.
Aid has been slow to trickle into the country, but the WHO said it had delivered more than 17 tonnes of medical aid by plane to Sana’a yesterday. AFP
