Over the past weeks, the two biggest members of the international coalition supporting the official government of Yemen against the Houthi [15] rebels have fallen out, with Saudi Arabia continuing to back President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi [16] and the United Arab Emirates switching its support to southern separatists [17]. Last week, the UAE-backed Security Belt militia, armed wing of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), seized effective control of the port city of Aden after days of fighting with Saudi-backed forces of the official government.
Hadi's government had been based in Aden since Iran-backed Houthi rebels sezied the capital Sanaa [18] in 2014. Aden had been the capital of South Yemen before it united with North Yemen in 1990. Hadi's government characterized the STC's seizure of Aden as a "coup." STC forces have since seized a number of military bases in southern Abyan province. (Al-Qaeda [19], Aug. 20; BBC News [20], Aug. 11)
In addition to Hadi's government, the STC and the Houthis, militants of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) continue to wage an insurgency in the south. On Aug. 2, AQAP fighters stormed al-Mahfad base in Abyan province, remaining in control of the installation for several hours before reinforcements arrived. (Middle East Eye [21], Aug. 3; TRT World [22], Aug. 2)
See our last post on the impending balkanization of Yemen [15].