Yemen's main southern separatist group said it had launched a military operation in Abyan province "to cleanse it of terrorist organisations", a move that would strengthen the UAE-backed faction's control in the south.
Yemen has been split by a seven-year-old war pitting a fractious coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Iran-aligned Houthi group. The Houthis largely hold the north and the internationally recognised government is based in the south.
