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STC sets out conditions for return of Yemen govt to Aden

December 29, 2020 at 12:53 pm

Fighters loyal to Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen on 18 May 2020 [NABIL HASAN/AFP/Getty Images]

A leader of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), Hani Bin Breik, yesterday announced new conditions for the newly formed government to remain in the interim capital, Aden.

“The government and its ministers should appreciate the sacrifices of the southerners, respect public opinion in the south, focus on the provision of services and direct military efforts to confront the Houthis,” Bin Breik who lives in Abu Dhabi said on Twitter.

He added that the southerners are provoked by and do not appreciate the proposition of keeping Yemen united.

Earlier this month, a power sharing government was announced in the war-torn Yemen, containing 24 ministers including five representatives of the separatist STC, which is backed by the UAE.

The Yemeni government was formed in accordance with the terms of the Riyadh Agreement that was jointly signed between the internationally recognised government and STC in November last year.

READ: Yemen campaign urges president, government to return to Aden

The agreement stipulates that STC forces withdraw from Aden and allow government forces to return to the city in order to exercise their duties.

Sources have revealed that “Saudi Arabia has deployed various military vehicles and forces to the Sirah District near the Maasheeq Presidential Palace with the aim of securing the new government’s headquarters.”

Observers fear the new government will be paralyzed and limited in its powers in light of the STC’s continued military and security dominance over Aden. This has led to ministers violating the terms of the newly agreed power sharing deal, and taking their oath in the Saudi capital Riyadh and not in the interim Yemeni capital, Aden.