ADEN: Yemen government forces reclaimed control of Aden Wednesday, including the presidential palace, after the city was seized by separatists earlier this month.

Forces loyal to the internationally recognised government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi were able “to secure the presidential palace in Aden and the surrounding areas,” Information Minister Moammer Al-Eryani tweeted.

“The national army and security services have full control over the province's districts.”

Clashes shook Aden, Yemen’s interim capital, on Wednesday when government forces attacked the Yemeni city’s eastern suburbs and fought artillery duels with southern separatists, residents said.

Government forces earlier recaptured most of the neighbouring towns they had previously lost to the separatists before moving towards the port city of Aden, they said.

Al-Iryani said government forces had taken Aden’s airport from the separatists.

Witnesses said clashes could be heard in Aden's Al-Arech and Khor Maksar districts, as well as around Aden's airport.

Government forces took control of Zinjibar, the capital of the neighbouring Abyan, earlier on Monday, after securing most of the oil-producing province of Shabwa and its liquefied natural gas terminal in Balfaf.