Aden (Yemen) (AFP)

A Saudi-Emirati military delegation is in Aden to discuss the withdrawal of separatists from key positions won by government forces following deadly fighting last week in the big city of southern Yemen, according to reports. Thursday from concordant sources.

"The joint military delegation arrived in Aden to discuss the issue of withdrawing forces from + cordon de sécurité + military positions and public buildings they have taken," a government source told President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

A separatist official confirmed the arrival of the delegation. "We will have meetings with this delegation," he said without further details.

Last week, "Cordon de sécurité" forces, armed forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC, separatists), took control of the presidential palace, the government headquarters and key military positions held by the forces. loyal to Mr. Hadi after deadly clashes.

The fighting, which has left 40 dead and 260 injured according to the UN, has undermined the cohesion of the coalition that has been intervening since 2015 against Houthi rebels.

They opposed two forces belonging to the same camp, the one fighting against these Iran-backed rebels who control the capital Sanaa and a good part of the north since the end of 2014.

The port city of Aden had become the temporary headquarters of the Hadi government since the Houthis seized Sanaa.

The clashes in Aden have embarrassed the two pillars of the anti-war coalition, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, each supporting parties today in conflict in the south.

Saudi Arabia supports President Hadi, who lives in exile in Ryad, while the United Arab Emirates supports the JTS after training and arming the "Cordon de sécurité" units.

The visit of the joint Saudi-Emirati delegation comes after a meeting on Monday between King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the strongman of the Emirates, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed.

At the end of the meeting, Abu Dhabi issued a statement saying that Saudi Arabia and the UAE agreed to call the disputing parties in Aden for "dialogue" and "reason". The text also emphasized that Ryad was "a key pillar of regional security and stability".

- Separatist demonstration -

Ryad proposes a meeting in Saudi Arabia between the protagonists of the conflict in southern Yemen to defuse the crisis.

But the Hadi government said Wednesday its refusal to participate in such a meeting, demanding prior withdrawal of separatists positions taken in Aden.

The JTS said it was ready to travel to Saudi Arabia to talk about peace without mentioning a possible withdrawal to Aden.

He also said he shared with the anti-Houthi coalition the goal of "fighting against Iranian expansionism in the region".

The separatists mobilized their supporters Thursday in Aden during a demonstration attended by thousands of Yemenis from the south.

Protesters gathered in Khor Maksar in central Aden, waving flags of former South Yemen, independent until 1990, and chanting slogans supporting the JTS.

In January 2018 deadly clashes had already erupted between separatist forces and units loyal to Mr Hadi. They had ended after a concerted Saudi-Emirati intervention.

STC officials routinely accuse the Hadi government of "corruption" and allow the Islamist Al-Islah party to influence its decisions.

© 2019 AFP