Yemeni government back in Aden under deal with separatists

ADEN, Yemen – Yemen’s internationally recognized government has returned to the country for the first time since it was forced out by southern separatists during infighting last summer.

Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed landed on Monday in the southern port city of Aden, fulfilling a key point in the power-sharing deal signed in Saudi Arabia that ended months of infighting.

The government had been slated to return last Tuesday but officials said the separatists were stalling and refusing to handover the key headquarters building and the presidential palace.

In August, the ousted secessionists, backed by the United Arab Emirates, ousted President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s forces, setting off violence between the two side.

The government and the separatists are nominal partners in the Saudi-led coalition’s war against Iran-allied Houthi rebels.