YEMEN FORCES SET FOR NEW ROUND OF TALKS
▶ Southern Transitional Council expected to be in Saudi for dialogue ▶ Gargash says Tehran meeting makes clear Houthis are Iran proxies
Preparations for talks between pro-government Yemeni groups are moving forward after recent clashes in the southern port city of Aden.
There was no official confirmation of when the meetings would begin, but reports suggest they could start today.
The United Nations late on Tuesday said they “welcome the initiative by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to convene a meeting in Jeddah between the relevant stakeholders to resolve their differences through dialogue”.
The Southern Transitional Council at the weekend took control of much of Aden from government forces after days of clashes.
The STC is a powerful group and was crucial in the battle to take Hodeidah from the Iranbacked Houthi rebels last year.
Saudi King Salman and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, met to discuss the situation in Yemen this week. The pair reaffirmed their call for parties in Yemen to “prioritise dialogue and reason in the interest of Yemen and its people”.
On Sunday, STC leader Gen Aidarous Al Zubaidi said he was committed to a ceasefire in Aden and taking part in Saudi-brokered peace talks with the government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
The government also confirmed “its commitment to respect the call of the Saudi-led coalition to a ceasefire”.
Yesterday, STC spokesman Saleh Alnoud told Reuters news agency that the group is looking for an equal seat at the table in peace talks.
It was not involved in the UN-brokered summit in Stockholm last December with only representatives of the Houthis and Mr Hadi’s administration present.
However, UN Envoy Martin Griffiths said that he is keen to hold further discussions that engage a broader cross-section of Yemeni society.
“Any position of power has to be in the hands of southerners. Southerners need to be given the power to govern themselves and southerners need to be engaged as an equal partner in the peace process,” Mr Alnoud said.
He said secession was “a real possibility” but that “we can still be part of Yemen, Hadi can still be president, but the south is to be ruled and governed by southerners”.
Mr Alnoud said that “giving up control of Aden is not on the table at the moment”, but emphasised that “we are there to remain – but to remain for a positive reason: to maintain stability”.
Yesterday, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash said that a recent meeting between Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Houthis was a clear indication that the group was simply a proxy of Tehran.
“Houthi relations with Iran, for long in search for proper
designation, is clearer following their leadership’s meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei,” Dr Gargash tweeted. “[It is] stated in black and white in their statement of fealty the Houthis are a proxy and that is the correct terminology.”
Mr Khamenei hosted Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam at his Tehran residence on Tuesday. “I declare my support for the mujahid [fighters] of Yemen,” he said after the talks, referring to the Houthis.
The STC has blamed the Islah party, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, for being complicit in the deadly missile strike by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on their southern forces this month.
At least 30 officers, including a senior commander, were killed on August 1 when a rocket hit Al Jalaa military camp in Aden.
The party has rejected the accusation, but Mr Alnoud said yesterday that “Islah has been at the heart of this”.
He said it would be “a very good start if Islah was removed from the whole of the south and the southerners [left] to govern themselves”.
He said that allowing the Security Belt Forces, the STC’s military wing, or Aden police to take control of security for military camps would be a step forward.
The rocket attack in early August and the fighting last week shattered the calm around the southern port city that had enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent months.
Yemenis from much of the south and centre of the country flocked to the city at the end of Ramadan, enjoying the relative safety, as well as shopping in the new malls and spending the days at new beach resorts.
The six counter-terrorism units trained by the UAE for the Aden police force have made progress in improving the security situation and report having prevented several plots in the city.
The recent Aden clashes killed 40 people and left 260 injured, the UN said on Tuesday.
Areas of the city have been badly damaged and there is fear that municipal services, including water and power delivery, could shut down.
“It is critical that all parties work to ensure that the events of the past days do not lead to further instability in Aden or elsewhere in Yemen,” a spokesman for the UN said. “We emphasise that the conflict in Yemen can only be resolved through an inclusive political process.”