Southern separatists on Saturday (August 17th) vacated key public buildings in Yemen's port city of Aden they had seized from forces loyal to President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, AFP reported.
Supporters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council pulled out of the headquarters of Hadi's government, the supreme court and the central bank as well as Aden's main hospital, Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani said.
Hadi's government has refused to enter talks with the separatists until they withdraw from the positions they seized in deadly fighting last week.
Al-Iryani said preparations were under way for a pullout from the interior ministry and the Aden oil refinery.
Saudi and Emirati military vehicles were on Saturday deployed around the positions vacated by the separatists. The presidential palace also was placed under Saudi and Emirati protection.
The Arab coalition said in a statement Saturday that the positions occupied in Aden would be handed over to the government under coalition supervision.
Several other installations, including military camps, remain under separatist control and it was not immediately clear if they too would be vacated.
The Arab coalition also called on all forces "to unite in order to foil Iran's destructive plan in Yemen" and prevent attacks by extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS).
