Death toll rises in Yemen clashes, scores injured

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar

ADEN, Yemen (AA) - At least 21 people have been killed and scores injured in ongoing clashes between government forces and southern separatists in Yemen’s coastal city of Aden.

Health ministry official Jalal Baoudah said the death toll had risen to 21 and 290 injured since Sunday, Yemen’s official SABA news agency reported Tuesday.

The violence broke out after forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) reportedly seized the government headquarters in Aden on Sunday.

Tension has been running high in Aden since the STC called for sacking the government of Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr. The STC accuses the government of starving Yemenis and pushing the country to the verge of famine.

Aden has served as the temporary seat of the Saudi-backed government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi since Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as an Iranian proxy -- launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back the Houthis’ territorial gains.