Yemen PM prepares to flee Aden as UAE-backed separatists advance around presidential palace
Tensions between the UAE and President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi boiled over on Sunday as clashes erupted across the government’s seat of power
Yemen’s prime minister was preparing to flee the country on Tuesday for Saudi Arabia after separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates seized the area around the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden in fierce battles overnight, security officials said.
A Saudi-led coalition that includes the United Arab Emirates has been battling rebels in northern Yemen for nearly three years on behalf of the internationally recognised government. But long-simmering tensions between the UAE and President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi boiled over on Sunday as clashes erupted across the government’s seat of power.
Elsewhere in the country, suspected Islamic militants attacked a checkpoint in the southern Shabwa province, killing at least 12 soldiers. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened in an area where Yemeni troops have claimed victory against al-Qaeda’s local affiliate.
The security officials said fighters loyal to the so-called Southern Transitional Council fought all way to the gates of the palace in central Aden, forcing Hadi’s troops to abandon their positions. The officials said Hadi’s prime minister and several Cabinet members would leave Yemen imminently for Riyadh, where Hadi is already based.
Saudi troops who have been guarding the palace for months stopped the separatists at the gate, preventing them from entering. A senior government official told Associated Press that Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid Bin Daghar and several ministers remain inside. The official declined to say whether the prime minister was to leave Aden. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.