Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has requested that the country’s foreign ministry hold a forum in Riyadh to address a deadly factional rift that has stoked armed conflict there and sparked tensions between Gulf Arab countries.
The Saudi foreign ministry urged southern groups to convene a forum in the Saudi capital on Saturday to “formulate a comprehensive vision for fair solutions to the southern cause.”
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According to Saba News Agency, PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi earlier on Saturday made an appeal to the various organizations and individuals in southern Yemen to convene in Riyadh.
Al-Alimi, who was quoted by Saba as praising “the justness and centrality of the southern cause” and “rejected any unilateral or exclusive measures” to end the conflict, was also quoted as praising the “justness and centrality of the southern cause.”
After the separatist group Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched a major offensive in Yemen’s Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces, which account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory, bloody hostilities have erupted in recent days.
Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing Hadramout borders the province, which gives the kingdom its cultural and historical significance. Numerous well-known Saudis trace their roots there. The Saudis viewed its capture by the STC as a threat last month.
The anti-Houthi coalition in the south of Yemen includes the STC. However, it is claimed that it intends to split up with its neighbor, the internationally renowned Yemeni government led by the PLC, to create conflict there.
The Saudis have accused its coalition partner, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of arming the STC, whose military operation is currently threatening to divide Yemen into three and raising issues for Riyadh’s own national security.
The UAE has refuted those claims, saying it supports Saudi Arabia’s security.
The UAE called on the Yemenis to prioritize “wisdom and restraint” in a statement released on Saturday and called on the Yemenis to do so in order to ensure security and stability in the nation.
In an effort to remove Yemen’s north’s Houthi rebels from Iran, a Saudi-backed coalition was established in 2015.
The Houthis are still in place despite a brutal civil war that lasted for ten years as a result of an attack by the Saudi- and Emirati-backed groups in the south.
A Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes on Friday, killing 20 people, according to the STC.
The UAE announced late on Friday that Yemeni military personnel had returned, indicating a potential detente with Saudi Arabia.
The UAE’s defense ministry stated that its decision to “complete the remaining missions of counter-terrorism units” is in line with its decision.
In a statement released on the Emirates News Agency website, the ministry stated that “the process was carried out in a way that ensured the safety of all personnel and was coordinated with all relevant partners.”
The STC unilaterally stated that it wants to hold a referendum on independence from the north in two years after the UAE announced its withdrawal.
Ali Ahmed al-Amrani, a former Yemeni diplomat and member of parliament, refuted the notion of secession as a solution to the Yemeni crisis in an interview with Al Jazeera, claiming that it “does not reflect a national consensus.”
Meanwhile, Hisham Al-Omeisy, a political and conflict analyst with the European Institute of Peace who studies Yemen, warned that if conflict breaks out, rival forces could start a dangerous new phase of the conflict as they attempt to reshape control on the ground.
“We’re going to be basically witnessing a bloody conflict, at least in the next few days,” he continued.
Al-Omeisy described a situation where “warring factions are trying to gain territory and secure the upper hand,” as per Al-Omeisy’s statement to Al-Jazeera.
He continued, “This is a proxy war within a proxy war,” adding that the effects could extend far beyond Yemen’s borders.
Source: Aljazeera
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