Yemen leader back from exile

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen’s president on Tuesday returned to the southern port city of Aden, seeking to re-establish control over the war-torn country after months in exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia, his office said.

It was the first time President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi had set foot in Yemen since fleeing Aden in March as Shiite Muslim rebels and their allies closed in.

Pro-government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition of Persian Gulf states, including troops from the United Arab Emirates, re-took the city in July and began advancing north toward the capital, Sanaa.

Hadi’s arrival suggests that his supporters were feeling increasingly confident about their hold on Aden, where residents have complained of persistent lawlessness and the presence of gunmen affiliated with extremist groups such as al-Qaida or Islamic State.

Hadi was preceded by Vice President Khaled Bahah, who flew into Aden with several government ministers last week.

Hadi arrived about 4 p.m Tuesday and went straight into meetings with government officials and leaders of the campaign to restore him to power, said Osama Sharmy, a spokesman for the president’s office.

Sharmy said Hadi’s return would be permanent, although the president plans to fly to New York after the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha this week to join world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.

“With the president’s return, the most important goal of the Decisive Storm operation was achieved,” said Sharmy, referring to the military campaign launched by the Sunni Muslim coalition against the rebels known as Houthis, who they see as proxies for Shiite-led Iran.

“Now the legitimate government is back in Yemen, and I would say with confidence that more than 70 percent of Yemen is under the control of the legitimate government and the legitimate military.”

Supporters of the Houthis dispute that assessment.