Dozens killed in car bomb attack in Yemen

Scene of an explosion in Yemen (file photo).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/228564.html

As Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi the winner of the country's single-candidate presidential vote takes office, a bomb attack in southern Yemen has killed at least 32 people.

The causalities come after a car bomb exploded outside the presidential palace in al-Mukalla located in Hadramawt Province, where Hadi was sworn in on Saturday.

Members of the elite Republican Guard are thought to be among the dead.

Al-Qaeda has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The violence comes hours after the new president replaced Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was forced to resign after months of protest against his rule.

Hadi, Saleh’s ex-deputy, was the single candidate in the presidential vote that took place on Tuesday, which was described by pundits as a mockery of democracy. He will lead Yemen for a two-year interim period.

Saleh, who returned home from a “medical visit” to the United States late on Friday, is set to formally hand over power to Hadi in a ceremony at the presidential palace on Monday.

Hadi pledged to continue the fight against al-Qaeda, which he called a "national and religious duty" in a live broadcast speech on television. "If we don't restore security, the only outcome will be chaos," he said.

Meanwhile, people took to the streets in the city of Taizz once again to renew their demand for a free Yemen and the prosecution of the 69-year-old Saleh and his aides.

In the southern Yemeni port city of Aden regime forces reportedly used live bullets against protesters.