SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates began withdrawing Sunday from positions they seized from the internationally-recognized government in the southern port city of Aden.

Both the southern separatists and the government forces are ostensibly allies in the Saudi-led military coalition that's been battling the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen since 2015.

But a major rift in the coalition was exposed during the four days of fighting for control of Aden, as the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council wrested the city from government forces. More than 70 people were killed in the clashes.

The UAE is the dominant force in Yemen's south, where it has an estimated 90,000 allied militiamen and has long been at odds with the government, which is largely based in Saudi Arabia.

The two U.S.-allied Gulf monarchies appear to have diverging interests in Yemen, where the stalemated war has spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis and drawn mounting criticism in Washington.

Saudi Arabia views the Houthi rebels in Yemen's north as a major national security threat, in part because the Houthis have launched numerous cross-border missile attacks targeting the Saudi capital and other cities. The UAE, which recently began withdrawing troops from Yemen, appears more interested in securing its interests in the south — which lies along major trading routes linking Africa to Asia — than waging a war that appears increasingly unwinnable.

Saudi Arabia had responded angrily to the takeover in Aden, calling for an immediate cease-fire and ordering the separatists to pull back as Saudi troops moved to secure government buildings. On Sunday, Saudi state TV reported that the separatists had begun withdrawing.

The coalition said Sunday it struck a target that posed a "direct threat" to the government, without elaborating, and warned of further military action if the separatists did not pull back.

Yemeni officials said the UAE-backed fighters had withdrawn from the streets but still held military positions seized in recent days, and were still stationed outside the presidential palace. Other officials at Aden's airport said flights had resumed after being halted since Thursday because of the clashes. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Peter Salisbury, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, a non-profit research institute, said the situation for the Saudi-led coalition was "very fluid." He told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was currently trying to "save face and work out if there is a deal to be done" between the UAE-backed southern separatists and the government.

The United Arab Emirates and its allies view President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government as being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood, a regional Islamist movement that the Gulf monarchies view as a threat.

The current crisis began last week during the funeral of a separatist leader killed in a Houthi rocket attack who was laid to rest by supporters in a cemetery near the presidential palace. Supporters attacked the palace, and Hani Bin Braik, a separatist leader and former Cabinet minister, called for the overthrow of the government.

Bin Braik tweeted Sunday that the Southern Transitional Council would not "negotiate under duress." He said his group accepts Hadi as president and is committed to the coalition but wants his Cabinet replaced. The government has said it will not negotiate with the separatists until they hand over all the military positions they seized.

The southern separatists advocate secession and the division of Yemen into two countries, in the north and south, as it was during much of the Cold War before unifying in 1994.

Interior Minister Ahmed al-Maisar, while awaiting evacuation to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, acknowledged that the government forces had been defeated, and criticized Saudi Arabia and Hadi for remaining silent during the four days of fighting. In the video statement released Sunday, he said over 400 vehicles supplied by the UAE had been deployed in Aden and accused the UAE-backed separatists of looting government properties.

Hadi has already been based in Saudi Arabia for five years.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Sunday that preliminary reports indicate as many as 40 people have been killed and 260 wounded in Aden since Aug. 8.

Elsewhere in Yemen, the Houthi rebel-run health ministry claimed an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least nine people and wounded at least 18 in the northern Hajjah province.

A spokesman for the coalition could not immediately be reached for comment. </s> SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates began withdrawing Sunday from positions they seized from the internationally-recognized government in the southern port city of Aden.

The Southern Transitional Council had wrested control of the city from government forces after four days of fighting that killed more than 70 people and exposed a major rift in the Saudi-led coalition, which has been battling Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in northern Yemen since 2015.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates lead the coalition, which is ostensibly fighting the rebels on behalf of the government. But the UAE is the dominant force in the south, where it has an estimated 90,000 allied militiamen and has long been at odds with the government, which is largely based in Saudi Arabia.

The two U.S.-allied Gulf monarchies appear to have diverging interests in Yemen, where the stalemated war has spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and drawn mounting criticism in Washington.

Saudi Arabia views the Houthis as a major national security threat, in part because the rebels have launched numerous cross-border missile attacks targeting its capital and other cities. The UAE, which recently began withdrawing troops from Yemen, appears more interested in securing its interests in the south — which lies along major trading routes linking Africa to Asia — than waging a war that appears increasingly unwinnable.

Saudi Arabia had responded angrily to the takeover in Aden, calling for an immediate cease-fire and ordering the separatists to pull back as Saudi troops moved to secure government buildings. On Sunday, Saudi state TV reported that the separatists had begun withdrawing.

The coalition said Sunday it struck a target that posed a “direct threat” to the government, without elaborating, and warned of further military action if the separatists did not pull back.

Yemeni officials said the UAE-backed fighters had withdrawn from the streets but still held military positions seized in recent days and were still stationed outside the presidential palace. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

The crisis began last week during the funeral of a separatist leader killed in a Houthi rocket attack who was laid to rest by supporters in a cemetery near the presidential palace. Supporters attacked the palace, and Hani Bin Braik, a separatist leader and former Cabinet minister, called for the overthrow of the government.

The United Arab Emirates and its allies view President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government as being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood, a regional Islamist movement that the Gulf monarchies view as a threat.

Bin Braik tweeted Sunday that the Southern Transitional Council would not “negotiate under duress.” He said his group accepts Hadi as president and is committed to the coalition but wants his Cabinet replaced. The government has said it will not negotiate with the separatists until they hand over all the military positions they seized.

The southern separatists advocate secession and the division of Yemen into two countries, in the north and south, as it was during much of the Cold War before unifying in 1994.

Interior Minister Ahmed al-Maisar acknowledged that the government forces had been defeated, and criticized Saudi Arabia and Hadi for remaining silent during the four days of fighting. He spoke in a video released Sunday but filmed a day earlier in Aden as he awaited evacuation to Saudi Arabia, where Hadi has been based for five years. He accused the UAE-backed separatists of looting government properties and said over 400 vehicles supplied by the UAE had been deployed in Aden.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Sunday that preliminary reports indicate as many as 40 people have been killed and 260 wounded in Aden since Aug. 8.

Elsewhere in Yemen, the Houthi rebels claimed an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least nine people in the northern Hajjah province.

The Houthi-run health ministry said the strike in Mustaba district also wounded at least 18 people.

A spokesman for the coalition could not immediately be reached for comment. </s> Southern Yemeni separatists took control of the port city of Aden after two days of fighting, residents said on Tuesday, confining the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to the presidential palace. Fighting between southern separatists allied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and forces loyal to the Saudi-based president Hadi risk crippling their once united campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen’s north.

Residents said forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), formed last year to push for the revival of the former independent state of South Yemen, seized the last stronghold of its Presidential Protection forces rival in Dar Saad area in northern Aden in battles that at times involved heavy artillery and tank fire.

Activists shared photos on social media of the Southern Yemeni flag flying over the base’s gate. The STC is backed by the UAE, a main component of the Saudi-led coalition. Residents said STC fighters from the Southern Resistance Forces had earlier overrun Presidential Protection forces outposts in central Aden’s Crater and Tawahi districts.

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official said more than 36 people had been killed in the fighting. Separatists stopped outside the al-Maasheeq palace, where Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr’s government is based, residents said. The Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to restore Hadi’s government after the Houthis forced him into exile, called in a statement on Tuesday on both parties to cease hostilities.

“The coalition will take all the measures it deems necessary to restore stability and security in Aden,” it said. The fighting began on Sunday after a deadline set last week by the STC for Hadi to dismiss bin Daghr’s government, accusing it of corruption and mismanagement, expired. The government denies the allegation.

Witnesses said hundreds of people danced and sang as they celebrated the STC victory with fireworks that lit the night skies over Aden. The crowd chanted slogans demanding restoration of the southern state that merged with North Yemen in 1990.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> ADEN (Reuters) - Southern Yemeni separatists took control of the port city of Aden after two days of fighting, residents said on Tuesday, confining the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to the presidential palace.

Fighting between southern separatists, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), against forces loyal to Saudi-based president Hadi, risk crippling their once united campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen’s north.

The UAE is a major component of a Saudi-led military coalition of Arab states that has supported Hadi’s government since the Houthis seized much of the country, including the capital Sanaa, three years ago. Hadi’s government operates out of Aden, while he lives in Saudi Arabia.

Residents said forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), formed last year to push for the revival of the former independent state of South Yemen, seized the last stronghold of Hadi’s Presidential Protection Forces in the Dar Saad area of northern Aden, in battles that at times involved heavy artillery and tank fire.

Activists shared photos on social media of the flag of the former independent Southern Yemen state flying over the base’s gate. Southern Yemen was united with Northern Yemen in 1990.

Aden residents said STC fighters had earlier overrun Presidential Protection forces outposts in central Aden’s Crater and Tawahi districts.

They stopped outside the al-Maasheeq palace, where Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr’s cabinet is based, they said.

Witnesses said hundreds of people danced and sang as they celebrated the STC victory with fireworks that lit the night skies over Aden. The crowd chanted slogans demanding restoration of the southern state.

Mosques also mixed their calls for prayers with victory claims in Crater, residents said.

Smoke billows from a car parts store hit by shells during the conflict in the port city of Aden, Yemen January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

“ALL MEASURES”

The government-run Saba news agency put the death toll in two days of fighting at 16 and the number of wounded at 141. An official at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said at least 36 were killed and 185 were wounded.

The fighting began on Sunday after a deadline set last week by the STC for Hadi to dismiss bin Daghr’s government, which the STC accused of corruption and mismanagement. The government denies the allegation.

Sources at the STC said negotiations were underway to allow bin Daghr’s government to leave the city safely, but a government source said bin Daghr had no intention of leaving Aden.

STC head Aydaroos al-Zubaydi, in his first public comments since the fighting began, said the separatists were still committed to the coalition’s goals of driving the Houthis out of Sanaa, but he declined to say whether he intended to set up a separate administration in Aden.

“We have tasks alongside the Arab coalition and its Decisive Storm (operation). But the people of the South have the right to their own state when the international community is ready for that,” Zubaydi said in an interview with the Arabic channel of France 24 TV.

The Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to restore Hadi’s government after the Houthis forced him into exile, called in a statement on Tuesday on both parties to cease hostilities.

“The coalition will take all the measures it deems necessary to restore stability and security in Aden,” it said.

Although Hadi remains in exile in Saudi Arabia, his administration and local allies nominally control about four-fifths of Yemen’s territory, although most population centers are in the hands of the Houthis.

Slideshow (5 Images)

The factional fighting in the south compounds the misery of Yemenis whose country has been torn apart by three years of conflict between Hadi’s forces and the Houthis, which has also opened the way for Islamist militants to widen their influence.

In the southern Shabwa province, at least 12 soldiers from another local forces trained and backed by the UAE were killed in a bomb and gun attack on their outpost, residents and officials said.

While no one claimed responsibility for the attack, it mirrored previous operations by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). </s> Fighters from the separatist Southern Transitional Council and their supporters parade around the area of the presidential palace in the government’s de facto capital Aden, moving closer to taking full control of the southern city, on Tuesday (AFP photo)

ADEN — Separatists in war-ravaged Yemen have surrounded the presidential palace in the government’s de facto capital Aden, moving closer on Tuesday to taking full control of the southern city.

The government has accused the separatists of attempting a coup in Aden, where more than 36 people have been killed in clashes that opened yet another front in the country’s devastating conflict.

The southern port city has served as the government’s base since 2014 after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels — who hail from northern Yemen — took control of the capital Sanaa in their fight against the state.

While President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi now resides in Riyadh, two military officials said Prime Minister Ahmed Bin Dagher and a number of senior government figures were holed up in the Aden presidential palace.

“The separatists have surrounded the palace and now control the main gate. Those inside are unofficially under house arrest at this point,” said a high-ranking officer with the Yemeni army.

For three years, Hadi’s Saudi-backed administration was allied with the separatists, driving the Houthi rebels out of the south and back into their strongholds in the north.

But tension between the allies began to surface in April when Hadi dismissed a Cabinet minister and the Aden governor in a move that was widely seen as reflecting divisions among his supporters.

Tensions boiled over into armed clashes between the separatists and pro-government forces on Sunday, fuelling chaos in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country where a civil war has already left thousands dead and millions on the brink of starvation.

Under the self-proclaimed Southern Transitional Council (STC), the separatists have gained traction since April in their push for self-rule, demanding the reinstatement of South Yemen as an independent entity.

The STC this month called on Hadi to make changes in his government, accusing him of corruption and mismanagement.

The clashes have sparked fears of a repeat of the 1986 South Yemen civil war, a failed socialist coup which killed thousands in just six days and helped pave the way for the 1991 unification of South and North Yemen.

The separatists, who enjoy popular support and are backed by some military troops, have rapidly gained control over all but one district in Aden since Sunday.

More than 36 people have been killed and 186 wounded in Aden in two days, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Brigadier Saleh Al-Sayyed, who heads troops that have fought alongside the separatists since Sunday, announced his forces had seized control of the Fourth Brigade, the presidential guard in Aden.

Yemen’s president has urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to intervene in the government’s defence.

The coalition said it would take “all necessary steps to restore security” but has not announced any new operation to help the government in Aden since Sunday.

More than 9,200 Yemenis have been killed since the coalition intervened in the war in 2015, triggering what the UN has called the world’s largest humanitarian disaster.

Nearly 2,200 more have died of cholera amid deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions, the World Health Organisation says.

The United Arab Emirates is a key member of the military alliance, but also has close ties to one of the leaders of the STC — Hani bin Breik, the cabinet minister sacked by Hadi in April.

The UAE has trained a special operations force in the Yemeni army, dubbed the “security belt”, stationed in southern Yemen.

The force supports the STC. Some troops in the Yemeni army are also loyal to the separatists.

Both the coalition and the Hadi government have called for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen, and the interior ministry has publicly called on state troops to stop fighting.

The coalition on Monday called on the separatists to exercise restraint while urging the Yemeni government to “take into consideration the demands of the social and political movement” in the south. </s> In this Friday Aug. 9, 2019 frame grab from video, Southern Transitional Council separatist fighters line up to storm the presidential palace in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen. The separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates began withdrawing Sunday from positions they seized from the internationally-recognized government in Aden. Both the southern separatists and the government forces are ostensibly allies in the Saudi-led military coalition that’s been battling the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen since 2015, but the four days of fighting in Aden have exposed a major rift in the alliance. (AP Photo)

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates began withdrawing Sunday from positions they seized from the internationally-recognized government in the southern port city of Aden.

Both the southern separatists and the government forces are ostensibly allies in the Saudi-led military coalition that’s been battling the Houthi rebels in northern Yemen since 2015.

But a major rift in the coalition was exposed during the four days of fighting for control of Aden, as the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council wrested the city from government forces. More than 70 people were killed in the clashes.

The UAE is the dominant force in Yemen’s south, where it has an estimated 90,000 allied militiamen and has long been at odds with the government, which is largely based in Saudi Arabia.

The two U.S.-allied Gulf monarchies appear to have diverging interests in Yemen, where the stalemated war has spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and drawn mounting criticism in Washington.

Saudi Arabia views the Houthi rebels in Yemen’s north as a major national security threat, in part because the Houthis have launched numerous cross-border missile attacks targeting the Saudi capital and other cities. The UAE, which recently began withdrawing troops from Yemen, appears more interested in securing its interests in the south — which lies along major trading routes linking Africa to Asia — than waging a war that appears increasingly unwinnable.

Saudi Arabia had responded angrily to the takeover in Aden, calling for an immediate cease-fire and ordering the separatists to pull back as Saudi troops moved to secure government buildings. On Sunday, Saudi state TV reported that the separatists had begun withdrawing.

The coalition said Sunday it struck a target that posed a “direct threat” to the government, without elaborating, and warned of further military action if the separatists did not pull back.

Yemeni officials said the UAE-backed fighters had withdrawn from the streets but still held military positions seized in recent days, and were still stationed outside the presidential palace. Other officials at Aden’s airport said flights had resumed after being halted since Thursday because of the clashes. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

The government forces that were expelled from Aden are led by President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who has been based Saudi Arabia for five years. Officials within his government have said Hadi wants to return to Aden, but his Saudi hosts would prefer he remain close at hand in their capital, Riyadh.

Hadi’s interior minister, Ahmed al-Maisar, sharply criticized Saudi Arabia for remaining silent during the past four days while fighting raged in Aden. He spoke in a video released Sunday that was recorded while he said he was awaiting evacuation from Aden to Saudi Arabia a day earlier.

The current crisis began last week following the funeral of a separatist leader killed in a Houthi rocket attack. After his funeral in Aden, southern separatists attacked the nearby presidential palace. At the time, Hani Bin Braik, a separatist leader and former Cabinet minister, called for the overthrow of the government.

Bin Braik tweeted Sunday that the southern separatists accept Hadi as president and are committed to the coalition, but want his Cabinet replaced. The government has said it will not negotiate with the separatists until they hand over all the military positions they seized.

Peter Salisbury, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, a non-profit research institute, said the separatists “withdrawing from installations won’t make a huge difference right now, as the Hadi government forces have largely dispersed.” He told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was likely trying to “save face and work out if there is a deal to be done” between the government and the UAE-backed separatists, whose goal was to “lay the groundwork for the formations of a separate southern state.”

Yemen was split into two countries, in the north and south, during much of the Cold War before unifying in 1994.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Sunday that preliminary reports indicate as many as 40 people have been killed and 260 wounded in Aden since Aug. 8.

Elsewhere in Yemen, the Houthi-run health ministry claimed an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least 11 people, including four children and three women, and wounded at least 18 people in the northern Hajjah province.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition could not immediately be reached for comment. </s> ADEN - Yemen’s southern separatists took control of all government military camps in Aden on Saturday, officials said, after four days of clashes between nominal allies who have turned on each other, complicating UN efforts to end the four-year war.

The separatists also surrounded the all-but empty presidential palace of the internationally recognized government that is temporarily based in the port city, a government official and another local official told Reuters.

At least eight civilians were killed on Friday in fighting between the separatists and government forces, according to medical sources. Fighting resumed early on Saturday but has since abated, residents said.

The combatants are both part of the Saudi-led pro-government coalition that has been battling the Iran-aligned armed Houthi movement in Yemen since March 2015, indicating a rift within the alliance. The war has killed tens of thousands and pushed the poorest Arabian Peninsula nation to the brink of famine.

“It is all over, the (Southern Transitional Council) forces are in control of all the military camps,” an official in President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government told Reuters.

He said the two sides had agreed the separatist forces would not try to seize the palace, located in the predominantly residential Crater district, while government forces would refrain from attacking them.

The separatists also took over the house of Interior Minister Ahmed al-Mayssari after he was evacuated from his residence with the help of coalition forces, government officials said. President Hadi is based in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

There was no immediate comment from the Western-backed, Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia that intervened in Yemen after the Houthis ousted Hadi’s government from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014.

Alliance member the United Arab Emirates, which has armed and trained thousands of southern separatist fighters, earlier called for calm and for the two sides to focus on opposing the Houthis.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed called on UN special envoy Martin Griffiths, who is trying to de-escalate tensions across Yemen, “to deploy efforts and exert pressure” to that purpose.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said the battles had trapped civilians in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water. The aid group said prolonged fighting in Aden, a gateway for commercial and aid supplies, could impact efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis gripping the rest of the country.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the parties to end hostilities and engage in “inclusive dialogue”. The clashes began on Wednesday after the separatists accused an Islamist party allied to Hadi of complicity in a missile attack on a military parade in Aden, one of three separate attacks that targeted southern forces.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the parade attack that killed a senior southern commander.

Despite their alliance, the separatists and Hadi’s government have rival agendas for Yemen’s future.

Analysts say the Houthis may have used the parade attack to test dynamics on the ground after the UAE in June scaled down its military presence in Yemen under pressure from Western allies to end the war and concerns about rising tensions with Iran in the Gulf.

The United Nations is trying to implement a stalled peace deal in the main port city of Hodeidah, further to the north, to pave the way for wider political negotiations to end the war. </s> ADEN (Reuters) - Southern Yemeni separatists took control of the port city of Aden after two days of fighting, residents said on Tuesday, confining the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to the presidential palace.

They said forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, a main component of the Saudi-led coalition, seized the last stronghold of its Presidential Protection forces rival in Dar Saad area in northern Aden on Tuesday after heavy fighting.

The Saudi-led coalition is battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement which controls most of northern Yemen. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen’s southern separatists agreed on Sunday to a Saudi-led coalition’s calls for an immediate ceasefire in Aden, seat of the internationally recognized government, they said in a statement.

“The spokesman of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) confirmed its adherence to the ceasfire called for by the leadership of the Saudi-led coalition,” the statement said.
Saudi coalition forces intervene in Aden. The Southern Transitional Council says it will not "negotiate under duress" with their coalition partners.