Yemen govt, separatists in power-sharing talks

JEDDAH: Yemen’s internationally recognised government and southern separatists are holding indirect negotiations and are close to reaching a power-sharing agreement, sources from both sides said on Monday.

The two camps have been for weeks in indirect and discreet talks in Saudi Arabia’s western city of Jeddah with the kingdom’s mediation, an official from the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) told the media.

The official said there has been “a lot of progress” in the past couple of days.

A Yemeni government source confirmed that talks between the two parties have been ongoing.

In August, fighting between the two camps — both of which are battling Yemen’s rebels — opened a new front in the country’s complex war.

But sources from both sides said on Monday that they are close to reaching a power-sharing deal.

“The agreement would stipulate that the government return to Aden and that the Security Belt Forces be responsible for security under the supervision of the Saudis,” a source informed about the negotiations said.

The source also said that the deal would include “the participation of the STC in government”.

The Security Belt Forces — dominated by the secessionist STC — in August took control of the southern city of Aden, which has served as the government’s base since it was ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Ansar Allah fighters in 2014.

The clashes between separatists and government forces — who for years fought on the same side against the Ansar Allah — have raised fears that the country could break apart entirely.

The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 as the Ansar Allah closed in on Aden prompting Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee into exile.