Yemeni govt, separatists set to ink deal to end Aden standoff

aden — Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and southern separatists are expected on Thursday to announce a deal to end a power struggle in the southern port of Aden, officials said.

Saudi Arabia has hosted indirect talks between them to rebuild the coalition fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that expelled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government from the capital Sanaa five years ago.

Two officials in Hadi’s government said the pact to end the Aden standoff would be signed in Riyadh on Thursday. Southern Transition Council leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi, who has been involved in the month-long talks in Jeddah, headed to Riyadh on Wednesday, 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.

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. The Houthis last month offered to stop missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia if the coalition ended air strikes on Yemen. Riyadh has said it views the offer “positively”.

The group extended the offer after claiming responsibility for a September 14 assault on Saudi oil processing facilities. Riyadh rejected the Houthi claim and blames Iran for the attacks, a charge Tehran rejects.