Yemen government reclaims key southern city from separatists

Internal rivalry boiled over between government forces and the UAE-backed separatists leading to clashes across the south

August 28, 2019 04:45 pm | Updated 04:45 pm IST - SANAA, Yemen

Yemeni officials and local residents say forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognized government have wrested control of the capital of southern Abyan province from separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates.

They say government forces on Wednesday pushed the UAE-backed militia, known as the Security Belt, out of Zinjibar after clasher that left at least one dead and 30 wounded fighters. They say the militia fled to nearby Aden province.

The separatists had seized Zinjibar earlier this month. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the fighting while the residents spoke anonymously, fearing reprisal.

The government forces and the UAE-backed separatists are allies in the Saudi-led coalition that’s been battling Iran-aligned Houthi rebels since 2015.

But recently, internal rivalry boiled over, leading to clashes across the south.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.