Yemeni separatists appear to split amid Saudi-UAE rift
Yemen’s main separatist group appears to have split, with some members announcing their disbandment; This echoes the row between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that was unleashed by the separatist advance last month.
Saudi-backed fighters have largely retaken territory in southern and eastern Yemen seized by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in December, and an STC delegation traveled to the Saudi capital Riyadh for talks.
However, STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi fled Yemen on Wednesday rather than participate in the talks; The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said the UAE helped smuggle him on a flight that was traced to a military airport in Abu Dhabi.
One of the members, who went to Riyadh for talks, said in a statement published in Saudi state media on Friday that the group had decided to disband.
However, STC says it has no communication with the Saudi-sponsored delegation that initiated the talks.
A spokesman close to Zubaidi who was not in Riyadh said any decision on the fate of the group could only be taken by the entire council, including its leader.
He said such a decision would be taken only after the delegation in Riyadh was “released”.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman welcomed the liquidation decision as a “brave” decision.
He said a conference will be held in Saudi Arabia to discuss southern Yemen issues with the participation of all invited groups.
Yemen was already divided from 1967 until reunification in 1990.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have previously worked together in a coalition fighting pro-Iranian Houthis in Yemen’s civil war, which has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
But the two most powerful countries in the Gulf have had sharp differences on many issues, from geopolitics to oil production.
Their rivalry emerged as the STC approached Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia, where Saudi officials declared them a threat to the country’s security.
On Friday, the STC called for mass protests in the southern cities of Aden and Mukalla, urging its supporters to rally on Saturday in a show of “loyalty and determination” amid the political crisis.
Authorities in Aden, cooperating with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, later ordered a ban on demonstrations in the southern city, citing security concerns, according to an official directive seen by Reuters.
with DPA
