Yemen's southern port city of Aden will remain the centre of government operations despite a deadly Houthi attack on the city's presidential palace, an official told The National on Friday.
Marwan Ali Noman, political adviser to Yemen's Foreign Minister Afrah Al Zouba, said the Iran-backed Houthi rebels will not succeed in disrupting public life or undermining state authority as the government pushes ahead with a military and political campaign against them.
Mr Al Noman said the government will continue to function from Aden despite security pressures and repeated Houthi attempts to destabilise areas under its control.
At least five security personnel were killed and 16 others injured when Houthi missiles struck the presidential palace in Aden on Thursday, Yemen's Health Ministry said. It was the first time the Houthis had targeted Al Maashiq Palace, the seat of the Saudi-backed and internationally recognised government, since fighting in Yemen resumed last month after a four-year lull.
“The government condemns in the strongest terms possible this terrorist attack, and reaffirms that such acts of violence and intimidation will not deter it from fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities, protecting its citizens and safeguarding state institutions,” Mr Al Noman said.
The government instructed military and security authorities to take the necessary measures to “protect state institutions, confront terrorist threats and respond appropriately to the sources of those threats” following the attack.
Mr Al Noman said the government remains committed to advancing Operation Dawn of Yemen, a campaign launched this month to regain control of the entire country, including the capital Sanaa that the rebels seized in 2014, and to restore state institutions.
Government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition have partially reversed Houthi advances along the Red Sea coast in south-west Yemen. The rebels have imposed a siege on the city of Taiz, creating severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials.
The Houthis have also launched repeated missile and drone attacks on airports and oil sites in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, killing 19 people and injuring hundreds. Most of the casualties were from a strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on October 10.
On Friday, the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government intercepted and destroyed a drone launched towards Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, spokesman Maj Gen Turki Al Malki said.
On Thursday, Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani visited Riyadh and held talks with Saudi officials, following a visit by President Ahmad Al Shara earlier in the month.
They discussed “bilateral relations and regional developments”, the Saudi state news agency reported.
Mr Al Shara's visit led to reports that Riyadh had asked Damascus to send troops to support the kingdom against the Houthis in Yemen, a claim Syria strongly denied.