Abu Dhabi: The UAE has expressed deep concern over the continuation of armed confrontations in Aden, calling for calm, de-escalation and maintaining the security and safety of Yemeni citizens.
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has stressed the need for all parties to support the efforts and confront the Al Houthi coup militia and other terrorist groups and eliminate them.
Sheikh Abdullah called for a responsible and serious dialogue to end the differences and work on unity in this delicate phase while maintaining security and stability.
He also stressed that the UAE, as an active partner in the Saudi-led Arab coalition, is exerting all efforts to calm and de-escalate the situation in Aden and in urging to rally efforts against the Al Houthi coup and its repercussions.
Due to the difficult situation, it is important for Martin Griffiths, United Nations, UN, Special Envoy for Yemen, to make all possible efforts to end the escalation in Aden because of its repercussions on the UN efforts, which is striving to achieve security and stability through the political track, dialogue and negotiations, he added.
STC gets control of camps
Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces have seized control of all government military camps in the southern port city of Aden, seat of the internationally recognised government, on Saturday, officials said. An STC military commander later said they had also taken the all-but empty presidential palace.
“What is happening in the temporary [government] capital of Aden by the Southern Transitional Council is a coup against institutions of the internationally recognised government,” Yemen’s foreign ministry said in a Twitter post.
Four days of clashes between the STC and government forces have killed 70 people, according to medical sources. The fighting, which trapped civilians in their homes with dwindling water supplies, resumed at dawn on Saturday but has since abated.
The STC commander, speaking in a video message circulated by the movement’s supporters, said their forces had not encountered resistance at the palace, located in the predominantly residential Crater district. A witness told Reuters the forces were now inside the palace.
They also took over the house of Interior Minister Ahmad Al Mayssari after he was evacuated by coalition forces, government officials said.
Yemen President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi is based in Riyadh.
