SANAA: The airport inYemen's capital reopened Sunday after a one-day shutdown over threats from loyalists of a sacked general close to former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, asWashington praised new President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.
"The airport has opened after we have received reassurances from the air force that there will be no threats to aviation," an aviation official said.
"We are now preparing for the first flight" to take off since forces loyal to Saleh's half-brother, General Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, who has refused to quit after being sacked by Hadi, surrounded the airport late on Friday.
The general manager ofSanaaInternationalAirport, Naji al-Murqab, told the defence ministry's news website 26sep.net that "all airlines were informed that the airport will receive incoming flights after all problems and obstacles which were threatening planes were resolved."
A military source said on Saturday that Ahmar had refused to go unless the defence minister and other senior officials also step down.
He also demanded that several members of the powerful Hashed tribe, which backed defectors during last year's anti-regime protests, be forced into exile.
Political sources in Sanaa said Ahmar had come under pressure from several parties, including Western ambassadors in Sanaa, to retract a decision to halt air traffic.
On Saturday, an airport official said the facility was closed after forces loyal to Ahmar had threatened to shoot down planes.
But a military official said the decision was taken after an air force officer who lives nearby had fired 10 shots at the control tower demanding compensation for land belonging to his tribe that was seized to expand the airport.
In addition to Ahmar, Hadi also sacked Saleh's nephew, General Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, who heads the presidential guard.
At the same time, Hadi fired General Mohammed Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, leader of units in the eastern region who is loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, together with whom he defected to the anti-Saleh opposition last year.
The decisions were hailed by theUnited States, which has long madeYemena major focus of its "war on terror," as well as by the the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council states.
"TheUnited Stateswelcomes President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi's announcement of civilian and military personnel transfers as part of the ongoing political transition inYemen," US State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said late on Saturday.
"The changes signify the National Consensus Government's commitment to fulfilling the aspirations of the Yemeni people and restoring stability to the country," he added.
"In spite of those who seek to derail the transition, President Hadi has demonstrated strong leadership by steadfastly implementing the agreed-upon political settlement," Toner added.
GCC chief Abdullatif al-Zayani, who led mediation efforts to convince Saleh to step down, also said the Gulf council "supports" Hadi and "backs all measures he takes to helpYemenexit its current crisis."
In other developments, the defence ministry and a tribal chief said on Sunday that air strikes had killed 24 Al-Qaeda suspects in their strongholds in the south and east.
A Yemeni air raid late on Saturday killed 16 extremists near Zinjibar, 26sep.net reported, while a tribal chief said aUSdrone in the easternprovinceofShabwaleft eight militants dead.
Hadi, who is restructuring the army based on a Gulf-brokered deal that ended Saleh's 33 years in power, is also facing the challenge of a growing Al-Qaeda threat with the terror network intensifying its attacks on security forces since he took office in February.