UAE Forces Arrive In Yemen's Aden To Support Southern Separatists Amid Tensions - Source

Additional UAE military forces have arrived in Yemen's interim capital of Aden, where fighting between forces loyal to the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) is underway, to support the southern separatists, a source from the Aden provincial authorities told Sputnik on Thursday

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2019) Additional UAE military forces have arrived in Yemen's interim capital of Aden, where fighting between forces loyal to the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) is underway, to support the southern separatists, a source from the Aden provincial authorities told Sputnik on Thursday.

The Yemeni government has been claiming that Abu Dhabi is supporting the separatists and has been calling on the United Arab Emirates to abandon policies aimed at dividing the country. The United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government in its fight against the Houthi rebels, has denied claims it supports the STC.

The source said that around 70 UAE combat vehicles had been brought on a vessel to Aden and deployed to a camp of the Security Belt Forces, loyal to the STC.

Meanwhile, a Yemeni military source told Sputnik that the military had deployed tanks, multiple rocket launchers and artillery to the city of Ataq, the administrative center of the Shawbah province, neighboring Aden.

Earlier this week, media reported that Saudi Arabia had boosted its military presence in Shabwah amid the rising tensions in the area.

Saudi Arabia has been calling on the sides to the battles in southern Yemen to settle their disagreements. Still, violence in the area persists, prompting concerns that it might open a new front in the Yemeni conflict and provoke a division inside the coalition.