Exiled Yemeni Government Ready to Return Home

CAIRO (Sputnik) — The exiled Yemeni government, which is currently in Saudi Arabia, is ready to return to their homeland, to a special prepared region, Vice President of Yemen Khaled Bahah said Friday.

In January, as heavy violence escalated in Yemen between Shiite Houthi opposition insurgents and the Yemeni army, the militants captured vast territories in the country, including its capital Sanaa. President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Bahah, who served as Prime Minister submitted their resignations and the cabinet dissolved, leaving Yemen without a government.

"The [Yemeni] government will return to the country soon. There has been partial return already — in particular, Ministry of Defense's top officials are back. Other ministries are waiting for a signal from the military to return to any prepared district," Bahah was quoted as saying by the Yemen-24 news portal.

As Hadi fled in late February, the Houthis requested Bahah and his Cabinet return to work, but they reportedly refused.

In late March, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition of nine Arab states began an aerial operation against Houthi positions in Yemen at the request of displaced Yemeni leader Hadi. The air campaign was officially declared over in April but the airstrikes have continued.