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Conflicts to Watch in The New Millennium

Conflicts to Watch in The New Millennium

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troops on five different fronts. Aden International Airport suspended all flights. Fight<strong>in</strong>g<br />

reached Aden's outskirts on 25 March 2015, with pro-Saleh soldiers tak<strong>in</strong>g over Aden<br />

International Airport and clashes erupt<strong>in</strong>g at an army base. Hadi reportedly fled his<br />

"temporary capital" by boat as the unrest worsened. On 26 March 2015, he resurfaced<br />

<strong>in</strong> the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where he arrived by plane and was met by Saudi<br />

Pr<strong>in</strong>ce Mohammad b<strong>in</strong> Salman Al Saud.<br />

Over the follow<strong>in</strong>g days, Houthi and allied army forces encircled Aden and hemmed <strong>in</strong><br />

Hadi's holdouts, although they encountered fierce resistance from the embattled<br />

president's loyalists and armed city residents. <strong>The</strong>y began press<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> the city center<br />

on 29 March 2015 despite coalition air strikes and shell<strong>in</strong>g from Egyptian<br />

Navy warships offshore.<br />

On 2 April 2015, the compound that has been used as a temporary presidential palace<br />

was taken by the Houthis, and fight<strong>in</strong>g moved <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> the central Crater and Al<br />

Mualla districts.<br />

A small cont<strong>in</strong>gent of foreign troops were reportedly deployed <strong>in</strong> Aden by early May,<br />

fight<strong>in</strong>g alongside anti-Houthi militiamen <strong>in</strong> the city. Saudi Arabia denied the presence<br />

of ground troops, while Hadi's government claimed the troops were Yemeni special<br />

forces who had received tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the Persian Gulf and were redeployed <strong>to</strong> fight <strong>in</strong><br />

Aden.<br />

President Hadi meets U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry <strong>in</strong> Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7<br />

May 2015<br />

Page 49 of 438

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