Yemeni protesters storm the presidential palace in Aden

Yemeni protesters stormed the Maasheq presidential palace in the city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognised government, at midday today. It came amid public anger over the lack of services, poor living conditions and the devaluation of Yemen's currency. 

The protesters, Reuters reports, met no resistance from forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC). Maeen Abdulmalik, Yemen's prime minister, and other members of the internationally recognised government, hid in the building, Yemeni officials report. 

According to AFP, Yemeni and Saudi forces escorted cabinet members to the military intelligence building on the palace grounds. They fired shots in the air, but protesters continued to march, chanting "revolution, revolution in the south". They remained in the building for more than an hour before dispersing. 

Tuesday's protest erupted after the government failed to pay the salaries of retired soldiers, witnesses told Reuters. Most of the protesters are former members of the national security forces who have not been paid for nine months. "We understand that the protests have been peaceful so far and that some kind of mediation is taking place," Jamal Elshayyal told Al-Jazeera.

Footage on social media showed Aden security chief Mathar al-Shaebe negotiating with protesters to leave the security perimeter of Maasheq Palace. 

The city of Aden is largely controlled by forces of the Emirati-backed STC, which had fought against the government of Abd-Rabbuh Mansour al-Hadi in the past. Abdulmalik formed his cabinet in December to unite the STC with the al-Hadi government in order to end the feud between the Riyadh allies. 

The two groups are the main Yemeni factions in a Saudi-backed alliance fighting the Iranian-protected Houthis, who control the north, including the capital Sana'a. The STC has sought to restore the Houthis' control of the north, including the capital Sana'a. The STC has sought to restore the independence of southern Yemen from the north, which had been unified in 1990. 

Residents of Aden complain that the new government has done nothing to prevent price inflation or constant power cuts. And protesters told AFP they were upset about the lack of services and the delay in paying salaries. Some of them carried flags of the southern separatist movement. 

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, a conflict between the Saudi-led military coalition and Houthi rebels. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the start of the conflict and the economy and health system have been paralysed. The UN calls the situation in Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. 

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch on Tuesday reported that Houthi shells have caused a massacre at a refugee centre. Dozens of migrants were burned to death in Yemen on 7 March after Houthi militia fired unidentified shells into a detention centre for migrants in Sana'a, causing a fire. 

Most of the injured are Ethiopian migrants who were protesting their conditions at the centre, amid a heavy security presence that prevented family members and military agencies from reaching the wounded.