Yemen's regional powers increase interventions

<p id="content">An official of the Yemeni government said that interventions by key regional powers have noticeably increased in the war-ravaged Arab country during the past weeks.

"The ongoing military conflict is mainly prolonged by the interventions of regional powers that are deliberately seeking to abort the Saudi-led coalition's role in Yemen," Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying on Monday.

"The international community's efforts aimed at achieving a comprehensive political solution and ending Yemen's conflict are repeatedly impeded by the recent regional interventions," he added.

Meanwhile, another official of Aden's local authority said Turkey, Qatar and Iran "are increasing their presence" in Yemen, "particularly in the country's southern part".

"Local Yemeni political factions are now receiving support from those countries to confront the Saudi-led coalition," he said.

Last week, the security forces of Aden seized a humanitarian Turkish team for several hours in the southern port city controlled by the UAE-backed southern forces.

The security forces transferred the Turkish team to the headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition in Aden for investigations before their release, according to local sources.

The reasons for seizing the Turkish team were not revealed by the authorities but apparently linked to the conflicting regional interventions in Yemen, the sources added.

The Houthi rebels allied with Iran launched a large military campaign and seized the capital Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Yemen's internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to flee to Aden.

Later, the pro-Houthi forces supported by armoured vehicles attacked Aden, forcing Hadi to escape to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily and began pounding Houthi-controlled Sanaa in March 2015, in response to an official request from Hadi to protect Yemen.

Now three-quarters of the Yemeni population, or more than 22 million people, urgently need some form of humanitarian assistance, including 8.4 million who struggle to find their next meal.

</p>.