The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saudis keep Yemeni leader under virtual house arrest
President’s clout fades as coalition fights on his behalf.
CAIRO — Saudi Arabia has barred Yemen’s president, along with his sons, ministers and military officials, from returning home for months, Yemeni officials said, a sign of how much the leader-in-exile has been deeply weakened in a war fought in his name by the Saudi-led coalition against rebels in his country.
The officials said the ban was prompted by the bitter enmity between President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the coalition and has come to dominate southern Yemen, the portion of the country not under rebel control. Hadi and much of his government have been in the Saudi capital Riyadh for most of the war.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the two main pillars of the coalition, which is ostensibly defending Hadi’s government and is battling the Shiite rebels known as Houthis.
The coalition has waged an air campaign against the rebels since 2015, and the UAE has a strong military presence in southern Yemen — but the Houthis still control the north.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday intensified its blockade on Yemen, closing down all traffic to Yemen’s air and sea ports and closing land crossings. A UN agency warned ships to depart Houthi-controlled ports, and flights to the only functioning airports in southern Yemen were canceled. As night fell, prices of fuel hiked in Sanaa with some gas stations closed and drivers lining up to fill their tanks.
The coalition move came after the Houthis fired a missile toward Riyadh, their deepest strike into the kingdom.
Hadi’s inability to get back to southern Yemen underscores the president’s loss of authority — even in the south that is nominally under his administration.
Since Hadi last left Yemen in February, he has repeatedly sent written requests to Saudi King Salman asking to return. None was processed, said a Yemeni security commander.
In August, Hadi even went to Riyadh airport, planning to return to his temporary capital, Aden, in southern Yemen — but he was turned back from the airport, the commander said. Two other Yemeni officials confirmed Hadi, his sons and several ministers with him in Riyadh have been prevented from going to Yemen. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation.
“The Saudis have imposed a form of house arrest on them,” the commander said. “When Hadi asks to go, they respond it’s not safe for him to return as there are plotters who want to take his life and Saudis fear for his life.”
Coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malaki referred any questions related to Hadi to his own office and government. Attempts to reach Yemen’s foreign minister and government spokesman were unsuccessful.
Initially, the passports of several of Hadi’s officials were seized — though not Hadi’s — the commander said. They were given their passports back but they still can’t leave, he said.
Hadi’s situation mirrors that of his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the powerful former president who was ousted in 2011 and then joined ranks with the Houthis to take over the capital Sanaa in 2014. Their alliance appeared to fray this year, amid reports the Houthis have put Saleh under house arrest.
Hadi’s weakening has gone hand-in-hand with the UAE’s growing power in southern Yemen.
The Gulf nation has trained, financed and armed militias in Yemen that only answer to it, set up prisons, and created a security establishment parallel to Hadi’s government.
The coalition’s closure could further limit access for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Arab world’s poorest country, which has been devastated by more than two years of conflict.