Saudi Arabia moves mission to Aden
A Yemeni government spokesman said on Thursday that the Saudi ambassador to Yemen would re-base his mission to the southern city of Aden, an apparent snub to the newly dominant Shiite Houthi faction controlling the capital Sanaa.
Saudi Arabia joined Western states earlier this month in evacuating its embassy in Sanaa following a power grab by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The envoy's move to Aden underlines Saudi support for the embattled Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi who fled to Aden last week after the Houthis forced him to step down and held him under house arrest in Sanaa for a month.
But with Hadi gone, the Houthis, whose fighters now control large parts of Yemen, have been struggling to form a new government, and Hadi is seeking to set up a rival power center in Aden with loyalist army units and tribes.
"The Saudi ambassador returned to Aden yesterday, together with GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani and began today to pursue his mission officially in Aden," said Rajeh Badi, a spokesman for Hadi's government.
Ambassadors from the other GCC countries would follow suit in the coming days, Badi said. The Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman could not be reached for comment. But Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have already shifted their embassies to Aden.
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