Saudi King Meets with Yemen’s President after Fighting Rages in Aden

Saudi King Salman met with Yemen’s President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to discuss developments in the war-torn and ways to achieve security and stability. The meeting came a day after forces allied with the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) seized the presidential palace in Aden, Yemen’s second largest city, following clashes with pro-Hadi forces that killed upwards of 40 people and wounded at least 260 others. The head of the STC has since announced that he is open to a cease-fire in Aden and prepared to engage in peace talks with Riyadh. The kingdom has four years led a coalition of Sunni regional countries in a battle against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in a bid to restore Hadi’s rule. Hadi, whose seat of power is in Aden, has been living in exile in Saudi Arabia since the Houthis in 2014 took over the capital Sana’a and ousted his government.