In an unprecedented incident, a loud explosion followed by gunfire occurred at Yemen's Aden International Airport on Wednesday during the arrival of the new government. As per reports, at least five people were killed in the blast and dozens injured.
Dubai based channel Al-Hadath TV captured the incident when it happened. The footage shows people peacefully leaving the plane via an airstair when suddenly a loud blast can be heard, causing the cameraman and other people at the airport to struggle to stay on their feet. As the camera panned towards the source of the blast, total chaos can be seen with crowds of people running away through dark smoke.
Few minutes after, automatic gunshots are heard. At one point of time during the incident, Yemeni soldiers blank fire in the air to direct the people away from the blast radius.
According to Reuters, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik, including the cabinet members, were not harmed and were transferred to the city's presidential palace.
Led by Abdulmalik, Yemen's new government was sworn-in just last Saturday. The cabinet includes members of opposing factions in Yemeni politics, and is supposed to represent a national push for unity in the war-torn country. The creation of the new unity government was backed by Saudi Arabia, to the point that the cabinet members were sworn in in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, instead of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital amid the ongoing civil war.
