Infighting in Yemen results in separatists gaining control of Aden

A strategic alliance has buckled in Yemen.

United Arab Emirates-backed southern Yemeni separatists known as the Southern Transitional Council have reportedly seized the presidential palace and other important sites in Aden, effectively wresting control of the port city from Yemen's internationally-backed government.

The seizure prompted the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis in Yemen's civil war to call for a ceasefire, which reportedly held overnight. The Yemeni government described the seizure as "a coup against institutions of the internationally recognized government." While the government and the southern separatists are nominally allies, that partnership has begun to fracture as the two sides maintain rival agendas for Yemen's future.

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The separatists reportedly believe that Islamist forces within the coalition have strengthened due to Saudi support and could take over the south, which could even allow Al Qaeda to make a comeback in the region. The separatists also believe that the larger conflict with the Houthis in the northern and western regions of the country means that Yemen can't emerge from the conflict as a unified country, no matter the outcome, BBC reports.

The infighting threatens to open a new front in Yemen's five-year civil war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of famine.