Yemen: Fresh clashes between separatists and Government forces in south
UAE-backed separatist fighters have seized a number of military camps in Yemen’s southern Abyan province, as fresh clashes with forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognised government caused multiple deaths and injuries.
The two sides are nominal allies in a Saudi-UAE-led military coalition battling the Houthi rebel movement after the latter took over the capital, Sanaa, and most major cities in 2014.
But earlier this month the so-called Security Belt militia, of the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC), broke with the government and seized its temporary base of Aden. The United Nations said at least 40 people were killed in several days of fighting in Aden, which has functioned as the seat of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government.
Amid escalating tensions, the Security Belt on Tuesday overran a military camp belonging to the government’s special forces in Zinjibar, about 60km east of Aden in Abyan province, and deployed across much of the city, unidentified officials and residents told The Associated Press news agency. The clashes killed at least three civilians and wounded nine, AP reported.