Originally posted to the Reuters website, 29 August 2019
ADEN (Reuters) – Southern Yemeni separatists brought in reinforcements to bolster their positions in Aden on Thursday, a day after heavy fighting in the southern port city between the separatists and government forces with whom they were previously allied
Sporadic clashes broke out across Aden during the day and fighters from both sides patrolled deserted streets, residents said. Shops, restaurants and businesses were closed.
The internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, based in Aden since it was ousted from the capital Sanaa by Houthi forces in 2014, said on Wednesday it had recaptured Aden airport from the separatists and controlled most of the city. Its foes disputed the claim.
The outbreak of hostilities between the two sides is the latest twist in a multi-faceted war in Yemen pitting several factions and armies against each other.
A Western-armed, Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthis, and the southern separatist allied themselves with it.
But the United Arab Emirates, the second foreign power in the coalition, has fallen out with Hadi and withdrawn many of its ground forces, prompting the separatists of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) to try to gain control of Aden.
On Thursday, the STC said some of its troops positioned on the outskirts of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, which is under Houthi control, had returned to Aden to join the battle against Hadi’s forces.
“To whoever said the Southern Resistance has fled, I say: We are here,” STC vice-president Hani Ben Brik said in a social media message showing him with dozens of his fighters outside Aden’s airport building.
A Yemeni official said Saudi Arabia and the UAE had made contact with both sides to try to defuse the conflict, but more fighters were seen arriving in Aden and the other southern provinces of Shabwa, Lahej and Abyan.
“The Coalition remains committed to supporting reforms in the legitimate government, tackling corruption, encouraging inclusiveness toward to all Yemeni factions, in order to ensure representation of all Yemenis in the future of the country,” said Jaber Al Lamki, executive director of media and strategic communications at the National Media Council.
But Yemen’s foreign minister accused the UAE of carrying out air strikes on government positions in Aden.
Yemen’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that more than 300 people were killed and wounded by air strikes by UAE war planes on the eastern outskirts.
The aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said it had taken in 51 casualties during the fighting in Aden on Wednesday, 10 of them already dead when they reached its hospital.
“It’s total chaos here. There was fighting in the city all day yesterday. Things appear to have calmed down a bit this morning, but we expect the hostilities to resume at any point,” MSF program manager Caroline Seguin said in a statement.
Reuters could not independently confirm the air strike or casualty reports and UAE officials did not respond to requests for comment.
U.N. CONCERN
The U.N. Security Council expressed concern over the escalation in violence and called on all parties to show restraint and to preserve Yemen’s territorial integrity.
The Security Council also condemned increased Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure and called on them to stop immediately. It expressed concern at the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
The separatists aim ultimately to restore the South Yemen republic which merged with the north in 1990. They had clashed occasionally with government forces for several years before major new hostilities erupted this month.Slideshow (9 Images)
Saudi Arabia has called for a summit to end the standoff, which has thwarted U.N. efforts to end a war that has driven Yemen to the brink of famine and is widely seen as a proxy struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for regional dominance.
But Hadi’s government has said it will not participate until separatists cede control of sites they seized earlier in August.
His forces retook Zinjibar, capital of neighboring Abyan province, on Monday, after securing most of the oil-producing Shabwa region and its liquefied natural gas terminal in Balhaf.
Link to the original post: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/yemeni-separatists-reinforce-positions-in-aden-fighting-against-government-forces-could-escalate-idUSKCN1VJ17F
