Saudi-Led Coalition Moves against UAE-Backed Separatists in Aden

The coalition said it attacked an area that poses a “direct threat” to Yemen’s ex-government, which is based in Aden. It did not specify the target or military action taken.

“This is only the first operation and will be followed by others ... the Southern Transitional Council (STC) still has a chance to withdraw,” Saudi state TV quoted it as saying.

The alliance had threatened military action if the separatists did not quit government military camps they seized on Saturday in the city and halt fighting.

The UAE-backed forces took over the government military bases and surrounded the nearly empty presidential palace after four days of clashes that have killed at least nine civilians and trapped others in their homes with limited supply of water.

The infighting is a serious setback for the coalition in its more than four year military aggression against Yemen.

Both the UAE-sponsored separatists and the Saudi-backed pro-Hadi militants serve the Riyadh-led coalition, and have been engaged, since 2015, in a bloody military campaign against Yemen aimed at reinstating Hadi and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

The former president resigned in 2014 and later fled to the Saudi capital.

Ties between the two sides have soured over a number of issues, including what the Yemenis view as Abu Dhabi’s intention to occupy Yemen’s strategic Socotra Island and gain dominance over the major waterways in the region.

Last month, the UAE announced a surprise plan to withdraw part of its troops from Yemen, largely because Abu Dhabi believes the war appears to have become “unwinnable,” according to US reports.

Message end/