The sheer number of Islamists, separatists, and former government forces on the side of the Saudi-backed invasion of Yemen has long made this a very complicated war. The growing probability of a civil war within the war threatens to make this even more difficult.



Fighting over the past three days has been raging in the southern capital of Aden, where separatist forces took over the presidential palace and are fighting against Saudi-backed forces. At least 25 have been killed over the past three days, including a number of civilians.



There is a split in that the separatists are backed by the UAE, and the government forces are loyal to the Saudis. They both have very different ideas of post-war Yemen, and substantial mistrust beyond that.



The fighting started after separatist fighters were killed by Islamists, At the funeral, separatist leaders suggested the Islamists were loyal to the government, and urged a rebellion. A crowd went straight from the funerals to the palace, taking it over in short order. Since then, fighting has continued around the palace, with pro-Saudi officials accusing the separatists of sedition, on the grounds of them being separatists.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz