Joint Saudi-UAE military delegation arrives in Aden

Aden: A joint Saudi-UAE military delegation arrived in Aden yesterday to discuss the withdrawal of Southern Transitional Council forces from positions they seized in Yemen’s interim capital last week, government and STC sources told AFP.

The delegation arrived in Aden “to discuss the issue of the withdrawal of southern Security Belt forces from government camps and positions they seized last week,” a source in the government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi told AFP.

Meanwhile, thousands of Yemenis rallied yesterday in the port city of Aden in support of STC forces.

Officials in Hadi’s camp said that forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council, which represents the separatists, had withdrawn from the presidential palace. Yet, they still remain in key positions in Aden, which has served as the seat of Hadi’s interim government since 2014.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.

Both the separatists and Hadi’s government are allies within a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting northern Yemen-based rebels, known as Al Houthis, since 2015.

After STC forces seized control of Aden and kicked Hadi’s forces out of their camps, the Saudi-led coalition ordered an immediate ceasefire and threatened to bomb them if they did not return to positions they held before the fighting.

It also called for the separatist movement and Hadi’s government to attend talks in Saudi Arabia without offering a date.

-Agencies