国际英语新闻:Yemen's president chairs meeting of high-ranking Yemeni gov't officials in Riyadh

ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Monday chaired a meeting of the country's high-ranking officials in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh to discuss the situation in the southern port city of Aden.

During the meeting, Hadi discussed the repercussions of the armed rebellion launched by the military units of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) against the state institutions in Aden, the state-run Saba news agency reported.

Attacking the state institutions, military bases and security headquarters in Aden threatens the country's unity, safety, and stability and contradicts the objectives of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, the news agency said.

It reported that Yemen's president also appreciated "the sincere efforts led by Saudi Arabia to end the separatist insurgency and support Yemen's legitimate authority."

The Yemeni government officials will continue their meetings to deal with the repercussions of this rebellion and to follow up the implementation of what was agreed upon with the Saudi officials regarding the situation in Aden, according to Saba.

Last week, the STC forces seized all the government's military bases and the presidential palace after four days of intense street fighting but finally capitulated to the demands of the Saudi-led coalition that called for immediate withdrawal.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government set the withdrawal of the forces belonging to the STC as a precondition for starting dialogue under the auspices of Saudi Arabia.

On Aug. 17, the STC forces withdrew from a number of seized government institutions including the country's central bank, the supreme judicial building and the cabinet headquarters following mediation efforts led by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

But the STC forces refused to vacate military bases of the government and vowed to seize all the country's southern regions including the country's southeastern province of Hadramout.

According to a statement by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Lise Grande, scores of civilians have been killed and wounded since Aug. 8 when fighting broke out in Aden.

"Preliminary reports indicate that as many as 40 people have been killed and 260 injured," the statement said.

Considered as Yemen's temporary capital, Aden is where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself since 2015.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces including the capital Sanaa.