Government Officials in Yemen Say Pact with Separatists Due Thursday

Two officials in the government of Yemen President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi are reportedly saying that a standoff with separatists over the southern port city of Aden will end with an agreement to be inked on Thursday in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who in 2015 chased Hadi’s government out of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. Officials later established limited rule over the country from Aden. Forces loyal to Hadi are part of the coalition, as are the separatists, who are seeking to renew independence in the south – where the two began clashing during the summer, complicating and even sidetracking the anti-Houthi efforts. The separatists are the patrons of the United Arab Emirates, once a major part of the coalition but now less so, with Abu Dhabi known to be rethinking whether the fight against the Houthis can be won.