Yemen’s Aden calm after drones targeted above presidential palace, sources say
- The security sources provided no further information about the incident
The southern Yemeni port city of Aden was calm on Tuesday evening after anti-aircraft guns were used to target unidentified drones above the al-Maashiq presidential palace, two security sources told Reuters.
The security sources provided no further information about the incident.
Aden and adjacent areas are currently controlled by the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the United Arab Emirates. The leader of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, had been residing in the palace but his current whereabouts are unknown.
Tuesday’s developments come amid Efforts to end a conflict between the UAE and Yemen’s Saudi-backed internationally recognised government, which erupted last month.
The conflict has triggered a major feud between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, fracturing a coalition originally created to fight the Houthis, who are still the dominant military force in Yemen.
READ MORE: Yemen’s Saudi-backed government launches operation against UAE-backed separatists
The Houthis seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014 and Gulf countries intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognised government, splitting Yemen into rival zones of control.
Aden has been the main seat of power outside Houthi-controlled areas since 2015 but leaders of the internationally recognised government left the city for Saudi Arabia early last month when the STC seized control.
Government forces backed by Saudi airstrikes on Friday and Saturday took back control of the strategically important Hadramout and Mahra provinces in the east of Yemen.
STC leader al-Zubaidi is set to travel to Saudi Arabia in a potential sign of progress towards ending the conflict between the separatists and the internationally recognised government.
His visit would come days after the government said late on Friday it had asked Saudi Arabia to host a forum to resolve the southern issue. Riyadh agreed and extended invitations to southern factions.
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