Today's clashes took place on the back of what has been a trying few days for Yemen's president Hadi. On Friday Hadi tried to remove from power some of the remaining remnants of former President Ali Adbullah Saleh's regime. This came to a head at Sana'a's international airport which was blockaded in protest by supporters of the former president, including Saleh's half-brother, air force commander Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar.
There is no denying that Yemen's new President has had a turbulent start to his presidency. He has almost no financial resources to help him cement his position, he seems to be fighting al-Qaeda militants on a daily basis with notable loss of life and is now facing public challenges to his power from members of former president Saleh's regime.
By most peoples' standards, Hadi has had a baptism of fire into his new position. That said, it's important to remember Yemen's state of disarray at the time of Hadi's arrival in office. Arguably things have improved significantly since then. Whilst violence in the south has unfortunately become common place, a semblance of normality has returned to the country's capital. Hadi should be congratulated for this, just as he should be congratulated for holding firm against Al-Ahmar's attempts to remain head of the air force.
Yemen's new president has and continues to face significant challenges, but his actions to date have shown that whilst he may be down he is certainly not out.
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