Yemen's internationally recognized government was forced to delay its return to the port city of Aden, officials claims Sunday, blaming STC for stalling on the key point of a power-sharing deal signed early this month to end their infighting.

Under the agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia between Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the STC, the government was to have returned to Aden last Tuesday.

Their infighting added another complex layer to the country's civil war, in which the government and the STC, are in a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia, against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

Government officials told The Associated Press that the STC forces are refusing to hand over Aden headquarters and the presidential palace. The separatist Southern Transitional Council insists instead on joint committees.

The agreement dictates that both sides pull their forces and heavy weapons out of Aden, and says both Hadi's forces and the separatists are under control of the the Saudi-led coalition. That effectively means that if Hadi were to return o Aden, he would only be protected by his presidential guard.

Yemen's civil war started when the rebel Houthis overran and captured the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north in 2014. The Saudi-led alliance joined the fray in March 2015, to push the Houthis back and restore Hadi to power.

The war has killed over 100,000 people, destroyed Yemen's infrastructure, displaced millions, and pushed 30 million people to the brink of famine.

AFP