Port of Aden reflects the wounds of Yemen's protracted war

Houses with bullet holes, buildings turned to rubble and countless portraits of “martyrs”: after seven years of civil war in Yemen, the interim capital of Aden displays the wounds of a conflict that shows no sign of ending.

Although Aden is currently relatively stable, the economy of the historic port city fell to its knees.

Water and electricity services are intermittent for a population that, according to official data, has tripled to more than 3 million by people arriving in search of a safe place.

Ahmed Lamlas, governor of Aden, said that the start of the war in 2015 was a “disaster” that left his infrastructure “in ruins.”

“We continue to suffer the impacts of the war,” said Lamlas, who barely escaped a car bomb attack in October.

Yemen has a long history of civil war, and was divided into North and South until 1990.

The brutal conflict restarted when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launched a military campaign to seize power in 2014, taking large parts of the territory in the north, including the capital Sanaa.

- Saudi intervention -

The following year, after a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in support of the internationally recognized government, the insurgents reached the gates of Aden.

They dominated for a few months before being expelled by government forces.

There is occasional violence at the temporary seat of government, whose troops confronted the southern separatists before reaching an agreement to share power.

The flags of former South Yemen are still found on the streets of Aden, where the Southern Transitional Council has a lot of influence, with checkpoints everywhere.

And if the civil war and the struggle for the city were not enough, Aden has also been the target of bombings claimed by the Islamic State group.

Along the ledge of Aden is a large portrait of former governor Jaafar Saad, who died in a car bomb claimed by the jihadist group in 2015.

“Aden will not forget you”, it reads in his message.

- War scars -

At the airport, an open hole in the arrivals terminal reminds visitors of a missile attack on cabinet members in 2020, a kind of memorial for the at least 26 killed in the event.

Throughout Yemen, hundreds of thousands have died, directly or indirectly, and millions have been displaced by the war, which has left 80 per cent of the population in need of food aid.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that Yemen is exposed to a “catastrophe”, speaking at a donor conference that raised less than a third of the required money.

The number of hungry people should increase five-fold this year to 161,000.

Lamlas said the pressure has been costly for the inhabitants of Aden.

“Living conditions have affected people psychologically,” said Lamlas, who said that “Aden stands firm and will come back to life.”

The people of Aden struggle to acquire essential goods in the midst of uncontrolled inflation.

Ammar Mohamed, a 52-year-old fish seller, struggles to make a living because few in the city can buy him.

“Only those who have money can buy fish,” he admitted. “Everything was cheaper before the war.”

- No internet or phone -

On a quiet Friday night, some Yemeni families headed to a seaside resort, one of the few recreational areas in the city.

“I have work experience in hotels, makeup and accounting,” Abeer, a 31-year-old woman, told AFP as she smoked shisha and e-cigarettes with two friends.

“Wages are low, the situation is difficult and I am struggling to lead a decent life,” she said, noting that friendships and jokes encourage her to move forward.

“There is no internet, telephone network, there is nothing. We need water, gas and gasoline, but at least we laughed,” he added.

Many in Aden blame the government for the deterioration of the city, and some express the desire for it to become an independent southern state.

South Yemen was an independent country from 1967 — when British colonial forces withdrew, opening the way for the creation of a communist one-party government — until 1990.

A new attempt to separate in 1994 provoked a brief civil war that ended when northern forces and their allied militias occupied the south.

“We don't want to join the Houthis in the north (...) but in Sana'a there is more security and there is electricity. There is nothing here,” said Abeer.

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