Anti-government protests erupt in Aden over Yemen hardships

Yemenis took to the streets of the southern city of Aden on Thursday, to protest against government corruption and rising living costs, AFP have reported, where southern separatist sentiments run high.

Thousands took to the streets calling out the Riyadh and Aden-based internationally-recognised government, over its failure to address key economic issues for ordinary Yemenis in areas under its control.

"From today, there is no more legitimacy," demonstrators chanted, while some blocked roads and burned tyres in the port city that has served as the headquarters for the Yemeni government since they were forced out of the capital Sanaa by Houthi rebels in 2014.

For more than a year, Yemen's government has been unable to pay salaries to workers.

War has also pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, with aid inaccessible to many parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the riyal has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition entered the war to back the government in its fight against Houthis.

Yemenis in the government's base, Aden, have taken to the streets over the rising cost of living in the south since Sunday, which is controlled by the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Hadi's cabinet has promised to raise money paid to all government employees, contractors and pensioners, but a figure or timeline for the hikes were not revealed.

"The government is the source of corruption and of destruction and we call on the countries of the coalition to stop protecting it," protester Mansur Salah told AFP.

Protests have also taken place in other towns around the government-held south.

Eight people were wounded in demonstrations Wednesday as police opened fire after clashing with protesters, a security source and witnesses told the agency.

Hadi's government met on Thursday and denounced the "unrest and acts of anarchy" and insisted officials were working to improve living conditions.

The Saudi-backed government has battled the Houthis, linked to Iran, since 2014 which has been seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran.

Yemen's war has cost around 10,000 lives since 2015, according to the World Health Organisation, many from air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition.