Saudi Arabia has been bombing civilians in Yemen (and covering it up) for four years. Yet they haven't come anywhere close to taking back the capital of Sanaa.

The Saudi's most notable victory was defeating the Houthi assault on the old capital city of former state of South Yemen - Aden.

At least that was their most notable victory until this week.

Then everything went to Hell.



Yemen’s southern separatists have seized control of the port city of Aden after storming the presidential palace, the seat of the internationally-recognised government, ripping apart a Gulf coalition fighting rebels in the north and sparking fears of a new war. Yemeni officials confirmed that the Southern Transitional Council, which was once part of a Gulf-backed coalition fighting the Houthi rebels, had taken all of the government military camps in the strategic city.

In order to understand just how crushing this event was to the Saudi effort, take a look at the quotes.



“It is all over, the (Southern Transitional Council) forces are in control of all the military camps,” an official in Mr Hadi’s government added.

...

"The successful coup destroyed what's left of this country's sovereignty," Ahmed Al-Maysary said in a video circulated on social media.

...

“Everyone thinks the current war now is between the Houthis and Yemen government but the real war, which is starting right now, is between the north and the south,“ Naser Al Khubaji, chairman of the negotiation unit of the South Transitional Council, said from Abu Dhabi.

“Today we have the tools to be able to declare a state in the south,” he added.

The Saudis have almost nothing to show for their effort except for thousands of dead children and a ruined nation.

Meanwhile, Saudi's ally al-Qaeda, is left free to destabilize the parts of Yemen that the Houthi don't control.

