A Saudi-led coalition said Sunday it launched a strike apparently against southern separatists in Yemen after they seized the presidential palace in the second city Aden.
The seizure, decried by the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government as a UAE-supported coup, reflects deep divisions between secessionists and loyalist forces, both of whom have fought Shiite Huthi rebels.
"The coalition targeted an area that poses a direct threat to one of the important sites of the legitimate government," a coalition statement said, calling on the separatist Southern Transitional Council to withdraw from positions seized in Aden or face further attacks.
Riyadh-based Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi is backed by the coalition — led by Saudi Arabia and its ally.