Yemen's southern separatists declare self-rule in Aden

ADEN (Yemen) • Yemen's main southern separatist group announced early yesterday that it would establish self-rule in areas under its control, which the Saudi-backed government warned would have "catastrophic consequences".

The move threatens to renew conflict between the United Arab Emirates-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and the Saudi-backed government, nominal allies in Yemen's war, even as the United Nations is trying to secure a nationwide truce to confront the coronavirus pandemic.

By last Saturday night, thousands of STC troops were already deployed to the streets of Aden and were reportedly moving to seize control of key institutions such as the port, central bank and the governor's office building. The southern port is the interim seat of the government ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

In its statement, the STC accused the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi of refusing to pay the salaries of its forces for several months. It also blamed the government of widening divisions in society and the deterioration of basic services. The statement also called for the governors in the southern provinces to unite under the STC.

The STC is one of the main groups fighting the Houthis as part of a coalition led by Saudi Arabia. But the separatists, long backed by Saudi coalition partner, the UAE, have clashed with government forces in the past.

The Saudi-backed government and southern regions of Shabwa, Hadhramout and Socotra, among the few areas under coalition control, issued separate statements rejecting the declaration.

Yemen Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami said the STC announcement constituted "a resumption of its armed insurgency" and a "rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement", a deal which ended a previous stand-off between the separatists and the government last year.

STC vice-president Hani Ali Brik accused the government of hampering the agreement. In a Twitter post, he reiterated accusations against Mr Hadi's government of mismanagement and corruption, charges it denies.

Yemen has been mired in violence since the Houthis ousted Mr Hadi's government from power in Sanaa in late 2014, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene.

The conflict, seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been in a military stalemate for years.

The Houthis still hold most major cities despite fighting that has killed more than 100,000 people. The war has choked supply lines in the poorest Arabian peninsula nation, leaving millions of people on the brink of famine and dependent on international aid.

The Saudi-led coalition has announced a unilateral ceasefire prompted by a UN plea to focus on the coronavirus pandemic. It extended the ceasefire last Friday for a month, but the Houthis have not accepted the truce and violence has continued.

While Yemen has reported only one confirmed case of the coronavirus, aid groups fear a catastrophic outbreak should it spread among a malnourished population in a country with a shattered health system and little testing.

The UN is trying to convene virtual talks to forge a permanent truce, coordinate anti-coronavirus efforts and agree on humanitarian and economic confidence-building measures to restart peace negotiations stalled since late 2018.

The STC, which has said it wants to be included in any political negotiations, in January pulled out of committees implementing the Riyadh deal.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG