Southern separatists in
Yemen said Saturday they had seized the presidential palace in the second city Aden after fierce battles with loyalist forces, prompting the government to decry what it called a UAE-backed "coup".
The deadly clashes reflect deep divisions between secessionists and loyalist forces, both of whom have fought Shiite Huthi rebels.
Yemeni President Abderabbo Mansour Hadi, based in
Saudi Arabia, is backed by a Riyadh-led coalition battling the Huthis who hail from Yemen's north.