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Separatist soldiers advancing in the streets of the capital Aden, August 10, 2019. REUTERS / Fawaz Salman

Yemen, already ravaged by five years of civil war, sank deeper into chaos on Saturday, August 10 with the seizure of the presidential palace in Aden by separatist fighters, after several days of clashes with government soldiers, while They have been allied since 2015. The Yemeni government, mainly based in Riyadh, on Saturday accused the United Arab Emirates of being " responsible for the coup ". The Saudi-led coalition calls for an " immediate " ceasefire in Aden.

According to military and security sources, separatist fighters had earlier in the day seized three barracks of government forces in Aden, where loyalist power has established its headquarters, since the country's historic capital, Sanaa, in North, is in the hands of Houthi rebels.

Since Wednesday , there have been clashes between these separatist fighters and government soldiers, all of whom, in theory, have been allies since 2015 in a coalition led by the Saudi government in Riyadh and the Emirati government of Abu Dhabi. This motley Arab-Sunni coalition fights in the north of the country against Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels.

The fighting in Aden between separatist elements of the "Cordon de sécurité", supported by the United Arab Emirates, and government troops, have killed at least 18 people - combatants and civilians - according to doctors and sources of security. According to the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), more than 75 injured people have been treated in a hospital under this NGO since Friday.

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Caroline Seguin, in charge of Yemen for MSF

10/08/2019 - by Eric de Salve Listen

Even before the presidential palace fell, the vice-minister of foreign affairs, Mohammed al-Hadhrami, of the Hadi government had sentenced via Twitter a " coup against legitimate institutions " in Yemen.

For his part, Emirati Foreign Minister Abdallah ben Zayed said he was " very worried " and said "to make every effort to calm the situation and lead to de-escalation ". He called on UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths to do the same, according to a statement to the official UAE WAM news agency.

Saudi Arabia calls for "emergency meeting"

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Saturday called for an " immediate " ceasefire in Aden and an " emergency " of warring parties. " The coalition calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Yemeni interim capital (Aden, ed) ... and says it will use military force against anyone who violates it, " said one of its spokesmen. quoted by the Saudi official news agency.

" The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) is inviting the Government of Yemen and all parties to the conflict in Aden to an emergency meeting (...) in Saudi Arabia to discuss their differences, to give a chance to wisdom and to dialogue, to renounce divisions, to end the conflict and to unite, "the Saudi Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter.

#STATEMENT | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invites the Yemeni government and all parties involved in the conflict ##############################################################################

Foreign Ministry ???????? (@KSAmofaEN) August 10, 2019

The Yemeni government on Thursday called on Saudi Arabia and the UAE to " urgently pressure " those supporters of an independent southern Yemen " to prevent " any military escalation.

►A read also - [Analysis] Yemen: understanding such a long conflict

Yemen faces the risk of " a war in war " ...

South Yemen was an independent state until 1990. In the South, resentment is strong against Yemeni natives of the North accused of forcing the unification of the country by force. To this North-South hostility is added the conflict within the heterogeneous coalition initially formed to defend the government. This is not the first time the separatists of the Southern Transition Council (TCC) - who include the "Cordon of Security" forces - oppose units loyal to President Hadi.

Already in January, fighting between separatists and forces loyal to the president had left at least 38 dead, and the situation had calmed down only after a joint Saudi-Emirati intervention.

Yemen is now facing the risk of a " civil war in the civil war " already ravaging the country, said in a report the center for reflection on conflicts International Crisis Group (ICG).

In # Yemen's port city of #Aden, clashes in the anti-Huthi coalition threatening to the country's south into civil war.

Urgent steps can protect #EU-led efforts to broker a peace deal and prevent the conflict from becoming more intractable.https: //t.co/hhTkuAEJkt

Crisis Group (@CrisisGroup) August 10, 2019

►Also read: the war in Yemen, diplomatic and military fields

(With AFP)