UAE welcomes Saudi efforts to support security in Yemen amid STC advance

According to the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Arab Emirates has praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to promote peace and stability in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia said it was hoping the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the country’s main southern separatist group, would end the conflict and withdraw its forces from the eastern provinces of Hadramout and al-Mahra on Friday.

The STC pushed the internationally renowned, Saudi-backed government out of its Aden headquarters earlier this month, claiming broad control in the south of the country. It had previously received military and financial support from the UAE.

The Emirati Foreign Ministry stated in its statement that the UAE “reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to supporting all efforts aimed at promoting stability and development in Yemen.”

A joint Saudi-Emirati military delegation met in Aden on December 12 to discuss ways to ease country tensions.

Saudi Arabia claimed the teams were sent to “make the necessary arrangements” to ensure STC forces’ return to their previous positions atop a province, adding that work was still being done.

A fragile coalition that has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen’s north for ten years has been threatened by the STC advance.

The separatists were initially a part of the coalition that fought the Houthis in Yemen in 2015. However, the group has turned to the south for self-government.

Since 2014, Yemen has experienced a civil war, with the Houthis gaining control of the northern region, including Sanaa, after the Saudi-backed government was forced to flee south.