Yemen forces say they retake Aden from southern separatists

ADEN — Yemen government forces reclaimed the interim capital Aden and its presidential palace on Wednesday, a minister said, pushing back separatists who seized the city and other parts of the south earlier this month.

The separatists' losses came nearly three weeks after the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council (STC) took control of Aden, the government's base since Houthi rebels took over the northern capital Sanaa in 2014.

Forces loyal to the internationally recognised government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi were able "to secure the presidential palace in Aden and the surrounding areas", Information Minister Muammar Al Eryani tweeted.

"The national army and security services have full control over the province's districts."

The clashes between the STC and government forces — who for years have fought alongside each other against the Iran-aligned Houthis — have raised concerns that the famine-threatened country could break apart entirely.

The separatists' seizure of Aden was seen as a major gain allowing the Security Belt, a paramilitary force loyal to the STC, to press on to take other strategic areas. 

However, the Yemeni government drafted in reinforcements from the north and mounted a pushback that appears to have met little resistance.

An AFP correspondent in the east of the city witnessed shelling by advancing government forces who came fresh from their success in taking back control of Abyan province to the east on Wednesday.

A pro-government source told AFP that fighting had erupted in the streets of Aden as loyalist troops fanned out there.

Abyan was the second southern province to be retaken by government forces in southern Yemen in days following clashes with the Security Belt.

Earlier in the week, government forces also regained control of Shabwa province after beating back an attack by STC forces.

The Yemeni interior ministry issued a statement urging the separatists to "lay down their arms" and surrender. 

The new fighting comes despite repeated calls for a ceasefire by a Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in the war in 2015 in support of the government after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen — the Arab world’s poorest nation.

Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, in what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

While they have also fought against the Houthis, STC forces want to see South Yemen regain the independence it gave up with unification in 1990.

The separatists want to address what they say is a history of exploitation and marginalisation of their people.

“We will sail together towards the safe harbour chosen by our people who have fought for this for so long,” STC leader Aidarous Al Zoubeidi — a popular and charismatic figure in the south — said in a speech on Tuesday.

The separatists have received support and training from the United Arab Emirates, even though it is a key pillar in the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels.

Analysts say the break between Hadi’s government and the separatists reflects a wider rift between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

But the UAE has rejected accusations it supported the separatists in their seizure of Aden and said it was “exerting all efforts to de-escalate the situation in Yemen”. 

In a joint statement this week, Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for cooperation with a coalition committee and for peace talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah.