Gaps Widening between Yemen’s Fugitive President and PM

SOURCE
TEHRAN (FNA)– Yemeni sources disclosed that differences between fugitive President Mansour Hadi and his Prime Minister Khaled Bahah have increased after the Tuesday attack on a hotel in the city of Aden where the latter was staying.

“Tough disputes have risen between Hadi and Bahah after the recent attacks,” informed Yemeni sources said on Wednesday.

Mansour and Bahah have been running a fued for the past several months, and their differences grew noisy when a number of Saudi officials worked out a plan to replace the fugitive president with his premier in order to encourage the revolutionary forces back in Yemen to work with him and allow him to start a new government.

He noted that Saudi Arabia has decided to hold an emergency meeting to be attended by UAE and Bahraini troops as well as forces loyal to Hadi and Bahah in an effort to bring some coordination among its allies.

Meantime, an informed Yemeni source said that several Saudi and Emirati officers were among the casualties of the rocket attack on Aden’s Qasr Hotel where Bahah stayed.

On Tuesday, rocket-propelled grenade attacks on hotel of residence of former Yemeni prime minister in Aden killed at least 18 of his Emirati guards.

Bahah escaped to Saudi Arabia once again after his UAE guards were killed in the attack.

A number of officials from the former Yemeni regime, including Khaled Bahah, were reportedly staying at the hotel.

An unspecified number of individuals have also been wounded in the attacks.

It is not clear if any of the former Yemeni officials said to be residing at the hotel are among the casualties.

However, other reports said Khaled Bahah escaped unharmed.

Sources also said Khaled Bahah and his cabinet members were evacuated by a UAE helicopter.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 196 days now to restore power to Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.