[ gunfire ] >> chaos in southern yemen, gun battles erupt between rival groups leaving planes stranded on the runway. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead, nine people arrested in tunisia, following a deadly attack on the museum in the capitol. plus an attack on tripoli's only working airport delays

talks in morocco. and robots doing everything for us but there is a real concern it could leave millions unemployed. ♪ we begin in yemen where the president has fled his residence in aden amid escalating violence. air strikes were launched on the presidential palace, and hadi's forces responded with gunfire. it was centered near the international airport, and there are reports that two shells hit the ground. imran khan reports. [ shouting ] [ gunfire ] >> reporter: in many ways this is battle not between two rival groups but between two men. forces loyal to president hadi retake the airport from forces loyal to the former president.

it was a short but tough battle lasting four hours. the special forces unit fighters had refused to give up their arms then they attacked the airport. the fighting got so intense, the airport was shut down and passengers taken off of planes and back into the terminal. hadi fled from sana'a last month after houthi fighters took control of the capitol. he insists he remains the legitimate leader, and if his opponents fighters would have been able to take the airport, it would have weakened his ability to gain control of the country. >> bring us up to date with the situation in aden first.

what are you hearing about the whereabouts of president hadi? >> his location is unknown. two air strikes took place in aden, two -- two strikes, 30 minutes apart. the first strike hit the presidential palace. that's when president hadi fled. the second attack took place in a district. as of now we have no reason to believe that there's a reason to attack the district only president hadi was going in that direction. but as of now, the senior aid i talked to, said president hadi is safe and he has left the palace. and the aircraft left sana'a. they were not in the south. they left sana'a 30 minutes ago, and we saw them in the air going towards that direction. so these are the houthis who are basically moving the air force in their support to ensure

that -- what they call the hadi uprising in aden comes to an end very soon. but this is far from over and we expect clashes overnight because of the intensifying clashes, and that many reinforcements have reached aden to support the prohouthi leader who is the commander of the social forces who were forced to evacuate the base. >> it is quite significant that we're seeing the fighting move from sana'a to the south in aden hakeem what it is that made the houthis want to take their fight to aden? >> many reasons. number 1 and mainly because negotiations in sana'a have been ongoing for the last three month, and with no result. the houthis have basically set up the negotiations earlier this week they assigned 14 new officials to the air forces, and this is the result.

they control the air force, and are bombarding areas they think are a threat to them. they also faced an assassination of one of their top officials. so after the assassination, they announced they will not be patient anymore. and instead of waiting until the attacks come to sana'a they are taking the friekt directly to aden, believing that hadi was behind many of the escalations that were against them in the north. >> thank you hakeem. we'll bring you of course more on the situation in aden in the south of yemen when we have more information. now nine people have been arrested in tunisia following the deadly attack on a museum in the capitol tunis on wednesday. 24 hours and one policeman were killed when gunmen stormed the bardo museum. let's get the latest from jacky rowland. jacky tell us more first about

these arrests. >> reporter: yes, we understand that four people have been arrested accused of being directly involved in the attack and the further five people have been arrested suspected of having some kind of correction with the people behind the attack. as we're speaking. the tunisian prime minister has been speaking on television giving more details about the security operations that we can expect to see in the coming days and weeks, not just here in the capitol, but all over the country. first of all he acknowledged that there has been lapsed in security. he described what was needed now in his opinion was as he put it a war on terror and he outlined the kind of measures that people can expect to see. more spot controls check points. already a number of check points

have been thrown up around the country. people's ids are being checked, other investigations are being made, and in particular controls of the borders, and a particular focus here in the capitol city. he also indicated that we're now going to see greater cooperation, closer cooperation between tunisia and other countries in terms of this fight, what he has been describing as this war on terror. and it's notable already on friday, a senior french minister will be coming to opportunities in to discuss precisely that type of security operation. >> jacky what impact will all of this have on the tourism industry in tunisia, which had already been struggling and the economy of the country as a whole. >> reporter: well, tourism is obviously a key part of the tunisian economy, and as you

pointed out, it has already been struggling since the uprising the arab spring in tunisia four years ago. because of course the way that tourism bookings worked is not necessarily related to the sentiments on the ground but the perception of whether a place is safe or dangerous. clearly what happened on wednesday when a key tourist attraction was attacked and when tourists themselves were killed it's going to have a devastating effect on the tourism industry. we have already seen cruise ships which were carrying some of the victims leafing the port of tunis, and we have been hearing from cruise ship companies that they will be taking tunis off of the list of stops for the foreseeable future. we can expect to see tour groups cancel bookings. it is going to have a devastating effect on the tourism season not just on hotel and resorts, but all of

the other industries that have an indirect feed through of revenue that comes from tourists. this is clearly going to have a serious impact on the tunisian economy as a whole. >> thank you, jacky. now to libya where the tripoli based government is blaming its rival for holding up peace talks. they say they targeted tripoli's only working airport to stop leaders from traveling to the talks. we have more now from rabat. hashem ahelbarra, they have been relayed but they are expected in the coming hours? >> reporter: yes, they are expected to resume later in the day. however, as we speak, we still have to wait for the delegation from tripoli to arrive to the moroccan capitol, rabat. they said earlier the airport was targeted by forces loyal to

the general who is backed by the internationally recognized government of tobruk but they are determined to make it to rabat. they are hoping to bring back the feuding factions to start talks here in the capitol rabat, to put an end to the political impasse. >> so once all of the factions make it to rabat, what will be the top of the agenda? and what is the priority right now for libya? >> reporter: well, this is a country divided along political regional lines. for the tobruk government it is the legitimate authority. the others ones say they have the backing of the constitutional court. now the general sentiment is the best way out for a country like libya is to form a national unity government with a prime

minister who has full executive power. once you have a unity government you can disband the militias forming a government and starting the fight against groups affiliated with isil. this is the prerequisite of the international community, if you want our help you have to fix your government. >> okay. hashem, thank you very much hashem ahelbarra live in rabat. the united nations human rights office says the islamic state of iraq and the levant fighters may have committed genocide. the case is being referred to the international criminal court for prosecution. the u.n. alleged isil committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. the report details cases of killings, torture, rape and sexual slavery carried out by isil fighters. they forced people to convert to islam and forced children to fight for them.

the genocide stems from the attempts to wipe out minority yazidis in iraq. the chief investigator on that report says that many groups were targeted in iraq. >> the yazidis in particular, the information we gathered points strongly to genocide. they were specifically targeted. the intention to destroy the group was very very clear from the onset. and we were able to document a consistent pattern where isil fighters came in to yazidis areas, and separated men and boys over the age of 14, took to locations such as ditches, nearby villages and then basically shot them shot them dead. and we were able to interview some survivors. we received information on possible war crimes being

committed by militia and -- and even iraqi state forces who are alleged to have perpetrated killings torture and abductions which could amount to war crimes in their counter offensive against isil. this report documents some of these violations and it will be presented at the human rights council next week and this will be an opportunity to engage the iraqi government on some of these issues. still ahead on al jazeera, a victory against boko haram, soldiers from chad and niger retake a town in northeastern nigeria. plus tiger skins, rhino horns, and bear teeth. we'll look at laos's illegal animal trade.

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you'll find... the inside story. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. ♪ welcome back. once again, our top stories on al jazeera. in yemen, two war planes have reportedly launched air strikes on the president's home in aden forcing president hadi to flee. forces loyal to hadi responded with machine gunfire. earlier at least four people were killed in heavy fighting between the rival groups. in tunisia nine people have been arrested over wednesday's attack that killed 21 people. four are suspected of having direct links to the attack. and libya's triply based government says an air strike has targeted the airport.

the explosion delayed the leaders from traveling to morocco where peace talks are supposed to be taking place. the retrial in egypt of two al jazeera journalists has been adjourned until next wednesday. they are charged with aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. charges they deny as does al jazeera. natasha ghoneim has the details. >> reporter: three men who wrote a report and provided video for the prosecution took the stand in cairo. one after the other, the men said they either didn't see the videos, write the report or remember what they wrote. an appeals court has already ruled there wasn't enough evidence to convict the two last year. they are accused of aiding the banned muslim brotherhood. mohammed and fahmy, along with their colleague, peter greste spent more than 400 days in

jail. last month greste was deported to his native australia, and a judge released mohammed and fahmy on bail. now the two must check in with the police every day. despite living under the cloud of uncertainty. mow maw head recently said he feels fortunate. >> i wait and see, but i'm happy i will return back -- i'm happy that i'm going back to my family. >> reporter: given the unpredictable path the men have been on they can only remain hopeful that will eventually be able to clear their names. an international coalition fighting boko haram has driven out the armed group out of a town in northeastern nigeria. the town was retaken over the weekend. 228 boko haram fighters were reportedly killed during the

operation. >> reporter: if these reports about major towns being recaptured from boko haram by the military are accurate it could mean the beginning of the end of the boko haram insurgency. according to the military various towns have been recaptured. two days ago, the military spokesperson tweeted that another town is free borno is soon to be free by our able military hashtag never again. referring to the three states in the northeast which have been worth affected by the boko haram crisis. however, there has been misinformation and inaccuracy around the insurgency before. the military previously announced the capture and killing of the boko haram leader only for him to then appear on youtube videos days later.

so nobody is saying it is all over, but if the reports are to be believed thinged of boko haram, according to the military is on the horizon. the impact of all of this on election has to be positive. the presidential poll is due to be held on the 28th of march, governor races on the 11th of april, and security has been a a -- major concern. so if the security situation has improved the belief is the elections will go off safely. logistic call difficulties are hampering efforts to get relief to vanuatu. >> reporter: first stop is the

island. the australian government has flown in a team to check on australians in the area. the minister has hitched a ride. >> it is similar to the one that strike the philippines. we haven't [ inaudible ] at this time. but i think we will not be expecting much casualties since people are prepared. >> reporter: unlike the philippines, vanuatu's cyclone didn't cause surges in the sea. this man is on a whistle-stop tour to find out which preparations helped and what could be done better in the future. this island in the north of

vanuatu escaped much of the storm. but it is sure climate change is at least in part to blame. >> the weather pattern is changing. we have sea level rise and the cyclone too -- we used to have cyclones, but this is the worst cyclone that we ever had. >> reporter: it's a common story. this isn't the first bad cyclone australia has helped clean up. >> the squadron itself is [ inaudible ] cyclone there. >> reporter: in vanuatu's capitol worry is everywhere. this chef is desperate to get home to a remote part of the eye lank. he knows it was badly hit, but doesn't have any information about his family. >> i just want more information about my family. i just want to go back home.

>> reporter: cyclones like these are making such journeys more common. tiger skins and rhino horns are being openly traded in laos despite a ban to protect the engagered species. the goods are being sold at a gambling resort popular with chinese tourists. >> reporter: welcome to the so-called golden triangle special economic zone. it has a casino hotel. it has shops. it also have restaurants with live animals on the menu. this bear cub was apparently available to eat. investigators filmed what was said to be rhino horn for sale. rhinos are an endangered species. so too are tigers. but here you are buy skins watched over by stuffed tigers.

outside captive tigers are kept in cramped cages. the tiger farm here has plans to breed between 500 and 1,000. captive bread tigers are legal if licensed. it's the poeshths of their products that is illegal. either way the head keeper here says that licenses or permissions are often ignored. >> reporter: this investigator said was frozen tiger meat available to eat. here assembled in a vat, a pieced together skull and skeleton of a big cat, almost certainly a tiger. here is a still photograph from a professional brochure.

tiger bone wine can tell for $300 a bottle. the senior keeper tells the investigator it's a very easy this business. it's the road to wealth. signs are in man der rin, and the chinese is the main currency. >> this zone has been set up by the laos involvement. so both governments have a responsibility to fulfill their commitments and end the illegal wildlife trade. >> reporter: now the government is calling on an investigation here. the question is will it lead to any meaningful action? nick clark, al jazeera. we spoke with the u.n.

office, and he says he is slowly seeing progress. >> well, in the region it's very widespread. and laos in particular is bound to be exposed to wildlife crime. it's essentially a land-locked country, surrounded by bigger countries, starting from china, vietnam, thailand they are also considered to be destination markets of illegal wildlife and there are other countries like cambodia, and myanmar which are considered to be origin of wildlife. in [ inaudible ] i would say that only recently, the ministries of public security and other agency of the criminal justice system have started to take in some commitment and some bolder actions towards the curbing of wildlife crime. until not long ago, this issue was very much treated within the

realm of environmental policies not so much in the -- in the area of security instead. and i must say that recently we have seen some positive changes in -- in the attitude of the government towards this problem. >> now it's an appealing vision. instead of having to do our own household chores and go to work every home could have a robot to do it for us. but as our correspondent reports, it could leave people without a job. >> this is not a story about how one day robots may kill us all. it is a story about how robots may soon take our jobs. this is the home exploring robot butler, and he is here to help us. >> we're putting it in the home of the elderly community, and really looking to extend independent living. >> reporter: robots enhancing

our quality of life. except that's not how things seem to be working out. >> it's true that innovation creates job categories. but automation is accelerating the pace under which we have unemployment. >> reporter: a study by researchers at oxford found that robots and artificial intelligence could soon replace nearly half of all jobs in the u.s. >> hello. >> reporter: carnegie-mellon university has lead the world in testing robots. they are called co-bots, or collaborative ro bots. >> all of the jobs are navigation jobs. show me the mona lisa or take me to the radiology department

at the hospital? or where can i buy these things in the supermarket. they are like good executers. they help you a lot. >> reporter: so it depends on the person that owns the machine. >> yes, i guess, and programs it. >> reporter: the eventual control of these machines is the key issue for those studies the social implications of robotics and the clear profit motive corporations have in investing in this technology in order to replace us. so academics are looking at alternative models like teaching the units to master themselves. >> we understand their problems and then teach them how to design new technology that helps them change the relationship they have. so they are not any longer victims but rather inventors. corporate america is not going to counsel that. >> reporter: for now they need our help for example to use an elevator, but that won't always

be the case. perhaps this is a good moment to work out some guidelines for how we will all share the world in the future. and a reminder that there's plenty more news on our website. all of the latest there on our top story and the situation in tunisia as well as yemen. aljazeera.com. [ ♪♪ ] >> we get the, you know, credible messages from credible source that is we can never trace back to their origins, you know, that austin is alive. >> people have, you know, had no reason to lie to us as far as we can tell. >> reporter: american journalist austin tice has been missing in syria in 2012.