YEMEN’S prime minister was preparing to flee to Saudi Arabia yesterday after separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seized the area around the presidential palace in the southern city of Aden in fierce battles.

A Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE, armed and advised by Britain and the US, has been battling rebels in northern Yemen for nearly three years in a bid to prop up President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

But despite having a common enemy, the UAE and Mr Hadi have been locked in a long-running power struggle, which boiled over on Sunday as clashes erupted across Aden.