Separatists, Yemen govt forces clash

sanaa (yemen) — Fierce clashes have erupted in Yemen’s southern province of Abyan between government troops and separatists, with at least six fighters from both sides killed in the past 24 hours, officials and residents said on Tuesday.

The fighting between the two sides has added another layer to the complex civil war in the Arab world’s most impoverished country.

It comes amid weeks of mounting tensions after the secessionist Southern Transitional Council last month declared self-rule over the key port city of Aden to assert control over southern

Yemen. The fighting could further undermine a Saudi Arabia-brokered peace deal between the government side and the separatists.

The clashes broke out as government forces advanced toward Zinjibar, the

Abyan provincial capital, and the separatists brought in reinforcements to defend the city, security officials said. Residents, who would not give their names, fearing reprisal, said government forces were shelling separatists’ positions.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullah Al Hadrami accused the separatists of trying to “destabilise security and stability” in Yemen’s south through “provocative military mobilisation”. He vowed the government forces would “defend the homeland, protect its security, territorial integrity, and confront every armed rebellion”.

On Monday, southern separatist leader Aydarous Al Zubaidi called on supporters to “take up arms and defend dignity and independence” of Yemen’s south.

The secessionist council, which is an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias, hopes to restore an independent southern Yemen, which existed from 1967-1990. —

The government forces will defend the homeland, protect its security, territorial integrity, and confront every armed rebellion Abdullah Al Hadrami

Yemen’s Foreign Minister