Yemen's former president: Clashes in country's south nothing short of a coup

Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has said that the outbreak of fighting between UAE-backed separatists and Saudi-backed forces in the country's southern regions is nothing short of a coup.

"Any assault on legitimacy is a coup," said Hadi on Monday, while noting that both sides should join their forces to fight against Ansarullah fighters.

Hadi (seen below) went on to reiterate his call for a ceasefire, stressing that "rebellion and weapons won't achieve peace or build a state."  

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, over 36 people have been killed and nearly 200 others injured since clashes began on Sunday after the separatists managed to take control of a number of sites and military camps run by the former Yemeni administration following intense clashes with Saudi mercenaries.

PressTV-Yemen: UAE-backed separatists send reinforcements to Aden

In Yemen, southern separatists, who are backed by the United Arab Emirates, call in sizable reinforcements to keep up pushing against the Saudi-allied former Yemeni government.

Saudi airstrike kills five members of a family  

Meanwhile, at least five people from one family were killed after Saudi fighter jets targeted a house in Bani Moein district in the county's Sa’ada province.

According to reporter, Saudi warplanes also targeted the town of Sahaar in the province with internationally-banned cluster bombs.

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Since March 2015, the Saudi regime has been heavily bombarding Yemen as part of a brutal campaign against its impoverished southern neighbor in an attempt to reinstall  Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, which is in control of large parts of Yemen, including the capital. The Saudi campaign, however, has failed to achieve its goals.

Prior to the offensive, Hadi had resigned and fled to Riyadh. The Saudi regime and its allies later managed to seize Aden from the Houthis and put it under the control of the ex-president’s officials.

Over the past two years, Houthis have been running state affairs and defending Yemeni people against the Saudi aggression.