A/HRC/45/CRP.7 battles broke out between SBF and the Government of Yemen’s presidential brigade as mourners approached Al-Ma’ashiq presidential palace.42 Fighting spread through the city in the following days, and STC-affiliated forces seized control of government buildings and military bases, while the few ministers present in Aden at the time fled the city.43 By 10 August, Aden had fallen under the control of the STC. 44. On 22 August, fighting began in Ataq City, Shabwah governorate, between Shabwa Elite Forces (SEF) affiliated to the STC and the pro-Hadi forces. The battle for control of Ataq continued throughout 25 August, when Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced a joint committee to supervise a ceasefire in the governorate.44 Government forces then took over SEF positions in the governorate, including the coastal town of Belhaf.45 On 28 August, fighting intensified in Abyan,46 and the governorate remained split between zones controlled by the Government and those controlled by STC-aligned forces. 45. On 28 and 29 August, the UAE launched air strikes in Aden and its suburbs, as well as in the city of Zinjibar in Abyan Governorate, killing and injuring 300 Government of Yemen soliders. The Government of Yemen called upon the Security Council to fulfil its role and intervene to stop these attacks.47 On 3 September, the UAE released a statement confirming it had launched the strikes, which it said targeted “elements of terrorist organizations” that had attacked coalition forces at Aden airport.48The Yemeni government rejected this justification and reiterated that the attack was carried against its own armed forces.49 46. From August 2019 onwards, the Houthis escalated their military operations, called “victory from God”,50 in the Kitaf wa Al-Boqe'e axis in Sa’ada Governorate where it controlled several positions.51 On 14 September, two Saudi Aramco facilities located in Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked by drones and cruise missiles, and the Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the attack. The United Nations Security Council-mandated Panel of Experts expressed doubts that the drones and missiles used in the attack had a range allowing them to be launched from Yemeni territory under Houthi control, noting it was unlikely the Houthis were responsible for these attacks. Other attacks using similar weapons were apparently fired from Yemen, and it is not believed that these relatively sophisticated weapons were either developed or manufactured in Yemen.52 On 20 September, the Houthis announced a unilateral suspension of strikes on Saudi Arabia, calling in return for a halt to Saudi airstrikes and a lifting of restrictions on access to northern Yemen. In late October, Houthi forces launched an offensive in Sa’ada Governorate against Yemeni government See “The Southern Implosion-The Yemen Review”, Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, August 2019, available at: https://sanaacenter.org/publications/the-yemen-review/8016 43 Ibid. 44 Command of the joint forces of “Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen” stresses necessity of commitment by all parties in Shabwah province to continued ceasefire, maintaining truce,” Saudi Press Agency, 26 August 2019, available at: https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1961765%22%20\l%20%221961765 45 “Ben Adayo: Shabwa toppled the coup of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Militias,” AlMasdar Online, August 26, 2019. https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171017 46 “Abyan governor says army controlled whole province,” September Net, August 28, 2019. http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/08/28/abyan-governor-says-army-controlled-whole-province/ 47 Letter dated 29 August 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council. S/2019/698. Available at : https://undocs.org/en/S/2019/698 48 Letter dated 3 September 2019 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council, S/2019/706 Available at: https://undocs.org/en/S/2019/706 49 Letter dated 30 September 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council. UN document S/2019/778. Available at : https://undocs.org/en/S/2019/778 50 Houthi website, 26 September. See: https://26sep.net/ 51 Confidential source on file. 52 S/2020/326, para. 54. 42 16