Government, separatists tipped to end Aden crisis
DUBAI: Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and southern separatists are expected to announce a deal today to end a power struggle in the southern port of Aden that fractured an Arab coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi group, officials said.
The UAE-backed separatist Southern Transition Council is nominally allied to the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, but the two sides fell out in August, with the separatists seizing control of Aden. Saudi Arabia has hosted indirect talks between them to rebuild the coalition fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that expelled Mr Hadi’s government from the capital Sanaa five years ago.
Fighting between pro-Hadi forces and the separatists had opened a new front in the multi-faceted war and complicated United Nations peace efforts. Riyadh has been trying to refocus the coalition on fighting the Houthis on its border. The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drone strikes against Saudi cities during the conflict, widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Two officials in Mr Hadi’s government said the pact to end the Aden standoff would be signed in Riyadh today. STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who has been involved in the monthlong talks in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, headed to Riyadh yesterday, according to a post on his Twitter account. The deal calls for a government reshuffle to include STC, which seeks self-rule in the south, and the restructuring of armed forces under Saudi supervision, they said.
Saudi forces took control of Aden after Emirati troops withdrew last week. The move seemingly paved the way for ending the crisis that had exposed differences between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over how to proceed in the wider war that has been in military stalemate for years.
The UAE already scaled down its presence in Yemen in June as Western pressure mounted to end the conflict that has pushed millions to the brink of famine. But Abu Dhabi retains influence through thousands of Yemeni troops it armed and trained. Mr Hadi’s government has asked the UAE to stop supporting STC. Abu Dhabi criticised Mr Hadi’s government as ineffective and distrusts Islamists with whom he is allied.
Resolving the power struggle in the south and easing Houthi-Saudi tensions would aid UN efforts to restart peace talks to end the war that has killed tens of thousands.