Sana’a, June 16 (IANS) Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday that they have liberated the airport of the main port city of Hudaydah from Houthi rebels.

The military units have begun to clear the airfield of mines and explosive devices planted by the rebels, the BBC reported citing the Army as saying.

Following the development, Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdel Salam said on Twitter that the withdrawal of his fighters was part of a tactical strategy and as a consequence, the mercenaries entered the airport.

He added that his fighters captured 36 soldiers loyal to the internationally-backed Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is now in the coastal city of Aden, the government’s provisional capital.

The development took place on the fourth day of an offensive to seize the strategic city, located on the Red Sea coast with its port as one of the main entry points for essential supplies to the country, which is suffering the most pressing humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the UN.

Military and medical sources told Efe news that more than 300 personnel belonging to both the Houthis and Yemeni forces were killed in the last two days of the offensive, while more than 550 were injured.

Residents of the area said that they have heard explosions and shots since Saturday morning in the airfield to the south of the city, 10 km from the port of Hudaydah, the second largest in the country after the port of Aden.

They added that the government forces continued to forge ahead after the airport was captured in order to take control of the southern entrance of the city, where violent clashes were ongoing.

According to the residents, both sides made a safe corridor for 4,000 al-Manzar neighbourhood inhabitants after a woman and a man were killed and another 30 injured in clashes.

Since late 2014, Yemen remains immersed in a bloody civil war after Houthi rebels seized both its capital Sana’a and its northern and western regions.

The conflict intensified in March 2015 when the Saudi Arabia-led alliance intervened in Yemen. </s> Five militants of the Southern Transitional Council were killed by snipers, while four soldiers died in clashes.

The day before clashed resulted in 12 people dead and over 130 wounded, while supporters of a movement to restore South Yemen's independence from the North reportedly captured several government facilities.

Clashes between former allies — the Saudi-led pro-government forces and militants of the Southern Transitional Council erupted the day after the internationally recognized government hadn't met a deadline for the resignation.

READ MORE: Yemen's Southern Movement: What They Want and Who They Are

Southern rebels initially backed internationally-recognized Yemen President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who fled from advancing Houthi rebels to his hometown of Aden, and alongside the Saudi-led coalition helped push the Houthis away from southern regions.

Hadi, in turn, rejected the ultimatum and banned public gatherings before January 28 — subsequently, clashes erupted. The president has called on the Saudi-led coalition to help and currently facing two fronts — one against the Houthis and a second against the Southern rebels. </s> MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th August, 2019) Yemeni Interior Minister Ahmed Misri said on Sunday that 400 UAE military vehicles were used by separatists from the Southern Transitional Council in the port city of Aden.

On Saturday, after several days of fierce fighting, the Southern Transitional Council captured the Maashiq presidential palace in Aden. The clashes have already left at least 40 people dead and 260 more injured.

"A total of 400 UAE [military] vehicles took part in the fighting. We fought against them using primitive weapons," Misri wrote on his Twitter page.

He pointed out that neither Saudi Arabia, not the administration of internationally recognized Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi commented on the situation in Aden.

The Yemeni conflict between the government and the rebel Shia Houthi movement has been ongoing since 2015. Earlier this week, separatists supporting the Southern Transitional Council engaged in clashes with their former allies, pro-government forces in Aden. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The refugees were carrying official UNHCR documents, The Guardian newspaper reported, citing a local coast guard officer.

It has not been established yet to whom the aircraft belonged.

Yemen's civil war between the internationally recognized Aden-based government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebel movement backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh erupted in March 2015. The same month, the Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries started carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, 180,992 people left Yemen in the period between April 2015 and October 2016. </s> The internationally-recognized Yemeni prime minister and 13 ministers of his government are preparing to leave the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden and head westwards to a military base of the Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition amid a separatist revolt, a government source told EFE on Tuesday.

This step comes after southern Yemeni separatists, who are backed by the United Arab Emirates, wrested control of much of the city from forces loyal to the Riyadh-exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, whose government had moved its base to Aden when the Houthi rebel insurgency took over the capital Sanaa. </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> Supporters of southern Yemeni separatists take part in an anti-government protest in Aden, Yemen, on Sunday (Reuters photo)

ADEN, Yemen — Four people were killed on Monday in a second day of fighting between rival factions seeking control of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, where the internationally recognised administration is based, witnesses and officials said.

The clashes between southern separatists allied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and forces loyal to Saudi-based President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi risk crippling their once united campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Witnesses reported fighting outside Yemeni government camps in the districts of Khor Maksar and Dar Saad in the north of Aden. The clashes involved tanks and heavy artillery targeting a hill, Jabal Hadeed, which overlooks Khor Maksar and Aden port.

The SABA state news agency, controlled by the Hadi government, said four people had died in Monday's fighting, bringing the total death toll since Sunday to 16 and the number of wounded to 141.

President Hadi issued a statement ordering the military to secure the city and assuring the population that his government was capable of handling the situation.

The witnesses said forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which was formed last year to push for the revival of the former independent state of South Yemen, were apparently trying to wrest control of two bases in Aden from Prime Minister Ahmed Bin Daghr’s government.

In downtown Aden, most people stayed off the streets as government forces guarded the main road to Al Maasheeq palace where the government is based.

Aden airport was closed for a second consecutive day because of the fighting, local officials said.

A government source said the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen in support of the Hadi administration should rein in the STC separatists or else the battle against the Houthis would suffer.

“The military commanders leading the battle in the western part of Yemen [against the Houthis] have given short notice to the Saudis and the UAE to intervene to end the fighting in Aden. Otherwise they will leave the battlefront and move back to Aden to assist President Hadi and the government,” the source said.

Sunday’s fighting broke out after the expiry of a deadline set last week by separatists from the STC for Hadi to dismiss the Bin Daghr government, accusing it of corruption and mismanagement. The government denies the charges.

Bin Daghr has described the ultimatum as a coup against the internationally-recognised government, which the STC has accused of attacking civilians who had converged on the city’s Parades Square from across southern Yemen for a rally.

The clashes in Aden have effectively divided the city into two zones, one controlled by the STC and one by the government.

Although Hadi remains in exile in Saudi Arabia, his administration and local allies nominally control about four-fifths of Yemen’s territory.

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. </s> ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Four people were killed on Monday in a second day of fighting between rival factions seeking control of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, where the internationally recognised administration is based, witnesses and officials said.

The clashes between southern separatists allied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and forces loyal to Saudi-based President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi risk crippling their once united campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Witnesses reported fighting outside Yemeni government camps in the districts of Khor Maksar and Dar Saad in the north of Aden. The clashes involved tanks and heavy artillery targeting a hill, Jabal Hadeed, which overlooks Khor Maksar and Aden port.

The SABA state news agency, controlled by the Hadi government, said four people had died in Monday’s fighting, bringing the total death toll since Sunday to 16 and the number of wounded to 141.

President Hadi issued a statement ordering the military to secure the city and assuring the population that his government was capable of handling the situation.

The witnesses said forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which was formed last year to push for the revival of the former independent state of South Yemen, were apparently trying to wrest control of two bases in Aden from Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr’s government.

In downtown Aden, most people stayed off the streets as government forces guarded the main road to al-Maasheeq palace where the government is based.

Aden airport was closed for a second consecutive day because of the fighting, local officials said.

A government source said the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen in support of the Hadi administration should rein in the STC separatists or else the battle against the Houthis would suffer.

“The military commanders leading the battle in the western part of Yemen (against the Houthis) have given short notice to the Saudis and the UAE to intervene to end the fighting in Aden. Otherwise they will leave the battlefront and move back to Aden to assist President Hadi and the government,” the source said.

Sunday’s fighting broke out after the expiry of a deadline set last week by separatists from the STC for Hadi to dismiss the bin Daghr government, accusing it of corruption and mismanagement. The government denies the charges.

Bin Daghr has described the ultimatum as a coup against the internationally-recognised government, which the STC has accused of attacking civilians who had converged on the city’s Parades Square from across southern Yemen for a rally.

The clashes in Aden have effectively divided the city into two zones, one controlled by the STC and one by the government.

Although Hadi remains in exile in Saudi Arabia, his administration and local allies nominally control about four-fifths of Yemen’s territory.

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. </s> Separatists in southern Yemen, who are backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have dispatched sizable reinforcements to the city of Aden, where they have been engaged in fierce clashes with Saudi-allied militants loyal to the former Yemeni government.

Reports on Monday said the so-called Southern Transitional Council had sent a large number of armed members from Dhale and Shabwah Provinces, respectively in southwestern and south-central Yemen, to Aden.

The fresh outburst began on Sunday after the separatists managed to take control of a number of sites and military camps run by the former Yemeni administration following intense clashes with Saudi mercenaries.

At least 15 people, including civilians, were killed and over 130 more injured in Sunday's violence.

The International Committee of the Red Cross reported overnight clashes in Aden.

The UAE has played a key role in the Saudi military campaign, which was launched in March 2015 with the aim of reinstalling the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crushing the Houthi Ansarullah movement that currently runs Yemen’s state affairs.

Prior to the offensive, Hadi had resigned and fled to Riyadh. The Saudi regime and its allies later managed to seize Aden from the Houthis and put it under the control of the ex-president’s officials.

Numerous Arab-language outlets have verified the collision between Saudi and Emirati interests there. Neither Abu Dhabi nor Riyadh has, however, attested to any division within the Saudi-led coalition.

The latest wave of violence broke out a week after Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of the separatist council, said in a statement that the self-proclaimed Yemeni parliament would be barred from convening in the city of Aden unless Hadi removes his “prime minister” and his entire “cabinet.”

The statement declared “a state of emergency in Aden” and said “it has begun the process of overthrowing” Hadi’s “government.”

The separatists have long demanded independence for Yemen’s south, which used to be independent -- with former British colony Aden as its capital -- from its formation in 1967 until 1990, when it was unified with the north.

Last year, it was revealed that the UAE clandestinely supports the secessionists against the Saudi-armed forces loyal to Hadi.

Given its economic importance, Aden’s control would lend considerable leverage to any side exercising ultimate control over the port.
Fighters of the Southern Movement capture the port city of Aden from forces loyal to the internationally recognized President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.