Aden (AFP)
Yemeni separatists have again control of Aden, the big city in the south of the country, after clashes with government forces that had resumed the previous day, sources on both sides said Thursday.
The southern separatists "completely control the city of Aden and its entrances," said the spokesman of the Southern Transition Council (STC, separatists), Haitham Nezar.
A government security source has confirmed this information to AFP. Government forces "have withdrawn from Aden" to the neighboring province of Abyane, she said.
On Wednesday, President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government announced that it had taken Aden back from the separatists, who had won it on 10 August after fierce fighting.
The government has established in Aden its temporary seat since the conquest of the capital Sanaa by Houthi rebels from the North.
In a message posted on Twitter on Thursday, STC deputy chairman Hani ben Briek posted photos of him and other southern officials walking in the city and threatened to punish loyalist forces leaving Aden.
According to Haitham Nezar, the separatist forces are planning an offensive on the provinces of Abyane and Chabwa, taken over by the authorities this week.
Previously, government forces and separatists were fighting the Houthis together, but their relations have been strained since 2017.
STC has traditionally been supported by the United Arab Emirates, while the Hadi government is supported by Saudi Arabia. These two countries are, however, allies in the military coalition that took place in Yemen in 2015 to support power against the Houthis.
© 2019 AFP