Aden (AFP)

More than a week after taking the city of Aden, separatist forces on Tuesday surrounded two HQ Yemeni government forces in Abyan province, southern Yemen, demanding their surrender, officials said. sides.

This operation extends military action in Aden, the southern city, from which separatists of the Southern Transition Council (TCC) have driven out government forces that they are theoretically allied with the Houthi rebels.

It also comes after the STC's withdrawal of some public buildings from Aden following a mediation by Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition against the Houthis in Yemen.

However, STC units have not surrendered military positions in the Yemeni government headquarters since the capital Sanaa was under Houthi control.

Forces for independence in southern Yemen are now surrounding the government's special forces headquarters in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, the information minister, Muammar al-Iryani, said on Twitter.

According to him, the separatists demand Special Forces soldiers to surrender, otherwise they will be "assaulted".

A second encircled barracks, located in Al-Kaud, on the border between the provinces of Aden and Abyane, house units of the military police.

STC spokesman Nizar Haitham confirmed to AFP that two HQs from government forces were surrounded by separatist forces.

"Two military encampments were surrounded as part of a security operation for the + Security cordon + units, a force under the control of the JTS," he said.

According to him, "elements threatening security and stability have found refuge in both camps".

"So far, these elements have not been neutralized and the two camps were not taken" by the STC, said Mr. Haitham.

The number of government forces encircled in both military positions is unknown.

- "unjustified escalation" -

Officials in President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government have condemned the actions of separatist forces who seem to want to take control of Abyane province after sitting in Aden.

"This is an unjustified escalation on the part of STC forces supported by the United Arab Emirates," Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, deputy foreign minister, indignantly said on Twitter.

"These unacceptable acts will frustrate Saudi Arabia's mediation efforts," he warned.

The official strongly criticized the United Arab Emirates for supporting the separatists. "We are against the continued financial and military support of the UAE to outlaw STC forces," he said.

"We renew our request to stop totally and immediately this aid," he continued.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the two main pillars of the coalition fighting the Houthis since March 2015.

But the Emiratis support the STC while the Saudis support the government of Mr. Hadi who has also been exiled to Ryad.

However, both countries have consistently called for dialogue and Saudi Arabia has offered to host a meeting between the Yemeni government and the JTS.

The latter said he was open to dialogue but ruled out any withdrawal of military positions in Aden.

"If we withdraw from these positions there will be nothing more to negotiate," said Haitham, spokesman for the STC Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat Tuesday.

UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths said he and Prince Khaled ben Salmane, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister, have discussed ways to "restore order and stability in the south of the country." Yemen".

The war in Yemen has left tens of thousands dead, including many civilians, according to NGOs, and plunged the country into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the UN.

© 2019 AFP