Yemeni south separatists seize military camps from Hadi govt in Aden

Yemeni south separatists have seized on Saturday the control of all military camps belonging to the Hadi government in Aden, according to media reports. Saturday's clashes initially centered on the all-but empty presidential palace in the predominantly residential Crater district, near Aden International Airport and in a neighborhood where Interior Minister Ahmed al-Mayssari lives

Battles had resumed at dawn, marking a fourth straight day of clashes between the separatists and government forces in the port city that is temporarily hosting Yemen's internationally-recognized authorities.

At least eight civilians were killed on Friday as a result of the clashes that broke out on Wednesday after the separatists accused an Islamist party allied to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi of complicity in a missile attack on a military parade, one of three separate attacks that targeted southern forces.

The combatants are both parts of the Saudi-led pro-government military coalition that has been battling the Iran-aligned armed Houthi movement in Yemen since March 2015. The war has killed tens of thousands and pushed the poorest Arabian Peninsula nation to the brink of famine.

The separatists and Hadi's government are nominally united in their battle against the Houthis, who removed Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa in late 2014, but they have rival agendas for Yemen's future. The United Arab Emirates, a member of the Saudi coalition but backing the separatists, said all efforts should focus on defeating the Houthis, and called for an end to the escalation in Aden.