Yemen Southern Transitional Council says restoring State of the South a ‘strategic’ goal 

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen announced, on Tuesday, that it does not seek secession, but rather to restore its fully sovereign state, considering that restoring the State of the South is a “strategic goal” that the Council will not retreat from, under any circumstances.

This came in a statement issued at the conclusion of the STC Presidium meeting chaired by STC Acting President and Chairman of the National Assembly, Major-General Ahmed Saeed bin Brik and held Monday in the interim capital, Aden (south).

The statement said during the meeting, the STC reviewed developments in the political arena, foremost of which is the peace process in Yemen, led by the Arab coalition with international support to reach a comprehensive solution.

On Sunday, two delegations from Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman held rare talks with leaders of the Houthi group in the capital, Sana’a, to discuss ways to establish peace in Yemen, amid talks about the imminent settlement of the crisis.

The Presidium said, in the statement, that the two-state solution, south and north, is the only way to a comprehensive solution and to achieve lasting peace, security and stability in the region.

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The Yemeni government did not comment on the statement until 13:00 (GMT).

The southern governorates of Aden, Shabwa, Socotra and most of Abyan are under the control of the STC forces, and call for separating southern Yemen from its north and accuse successive governments of marginalising and excluding the southern regions politically and economically.

Meanwhile, regional and international efforts are escalating to renew a six- month truce that ended last October, between the Yemeni government and Houthis.