Iran Press/ Commentary: Separatists in southern Yemen have seized all government military camps and a presidential palace in the port city of Aden, according to security sources and witnesses, amid heavy fighting that has killed and wounded scores of people.
A spokesman for the Security Belt, a militia aligned and supported by the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council, claimed on Saturday that fighters from the group met no resistance when they seized the all-but empty presidential palace from forces loyal to fugitive President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government.
UAE-backed Forces Take Control of Aden
The announcement came just hours after local sources said the separatists had also wrested control of all government military camps in Aden, the city temporarily hosting Hadi's government, after clashes that killed dozens.
The separatist-dominated Security Belt forces took the Maashiq palace in Aden from presidential [guard] forces without much of a fight.
The fugitive former president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and members of his government effectively resigned and fled the country in January 2015 when the far more popular Houthis and Ansarullah Movement overran Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and took control of the Yemeni government amid rejoicing of the people.
The fugitive Hadi, never popular with his own people, is currently based in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh. After the ouster of Hadi Saudi Arabia formed a coalition and attacked Yemen, hoping to restore Hadi to power, but this has never happened with the staunch resistance of the Yemeni people. 53 months later, the Houthis and the Ansarullah Movement are more popular than ever, stronger than ever, and in firm control of of Sanaa the capital.
Saudis Staring Defeat in the Face in Yemen
After losing Sanaa, the fugitive Hadi decided to set up his resigned government in the port city of Aden in southern Yemen. But the fact of the matter is that the so-called government in Aden has never been fully functional and united in the past 53 months. The United Arab Emirates had set up a rival parallel government in Aden in direct competition with the Saudi-backed Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. What has happened in the past week or so, is that this UAE-backed parallel government has taken over the Maashiq palace in Aden from forces loyal to Hadi, and they have also wrested control of all government military camps in Aden.
Undoubtedly this is a huge defeat for Saudi Arabia in Yemen. A recent newspaper article written by the ousted information minister of the Hadi government, "Muamar al-Riyani" confirms this huge defeat for the Al-e-Saud and the rulers of Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Al-Riyani wrote: "The Hadi government is counting on Saudi Arabia's coalition, but the fall of the city of Aden and Maashiq palace is a massive blow to Hadi and his backers."
The question is what factors led to the fall of Aden and the huge defeat for Saudi Arabia in Yemen ?
Hadi's Forces Switch Sides
The combatants in Aden are nominal allies in the Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the Houthis in northern and western Yemen since March 2015, but they have rival agendas for the country's future. It seems the most important reason for the fall of Aden is lack of loyal forces to former fugitive president Hadi, and the fact that many military commanders of Hadi's forces were disloyal to him and switched sides in the crucial hour.
According to the Al-Moheet press website, a high-ranking source within the Hadi government has confirmed the disloyalty of senior military commanders of Hadi's forces, switching sides in the crucial hour. Even though forces backed by United Arab Emirates and forces backed by Saudi Arabia are nominal allies in the Saudi-led coalition, they have differing visions and rival agendas for Yemen's future.
Another important point is that forces backed by the UAE are better motivated than forces backed by Saudi Arabia. Aidrous al-Zoubeidi, the head of the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council, was sacked by Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2017 from the post of governor of the port city of Aden. Thus, al-Zoubeidi had plenty of motivation to capture Maashiq palace from Hadi's forces.
The crucial reason for the fall of Aden is that the Yemen war has dragged for too long, and too many innocent Yemenis have been killed. Many senior commander's of Hadi's forces switched sides because they are sick and tired of this war and they don't want to see any more innocent blood shed in the country. They joined the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council, and the port city of Yemen fell as a result.
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Commentary writer: Seyyed Reza Emadi
Translator : Mehran Derakhshandeh
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