Yemen ’s southern separatists have seized control of the port city of Aden after storming the presidential palace, the seat of the internationally-recognised government, ripping apart a Gulf coalition fighting rebels in the north and sparking fears of a new war. Yemeni officials confirmed that the Southern Transitional Council, which was once part of a Gulf-backed coalition fighting the Houthi rebels, had taken all of the government military camps in the strategic city. A separatist commander later claimed they also seized the presidential palace. The country’s recognised foreign ministry called the action a “coup” while an official within the government told Reuters “it’s all over”.From extras.Senior tribal leaders in the southeast of the country confirmed earlier on Saturday that the separatists had seized the temporary government headquarters and expressed “serious concerns”, believing the move would lead to a second civil war. Fierce clashes between southern separatist forces and forces loyal to recognised President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi first erupted on Wednesday. Just days before, leading members of the STC had threatened war was on the horizon in an interview with The Independent in Abu Dhabi .“What is happening in the temporary (government) capital of Aden by the Southern Transitional Council is a coup against institutions of the internationally recognised government,” Yemen’s recognised foreign ministry said on Twitter.