Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and southern separatists signed an agreement
to end a power struggle in the south of
Yemen that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince hailed as a step toward a wider
political solution to end the multifaceted conflict.
The stand-off had opened a new front in the more than four-year-old war and
fractured a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthi movement that ousted the
government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from the capital, Sanaa, in the north in
late 2014.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised the agreement on Twitter: “A very good
start! Please all work hard to get a final deal.”
Riyadh has been trying to resolve the stand-off to refocus the coalition on
fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement on its southern border.
Separatist forces, supported by Riyadh’s main coalition partner the United
Arab Emirates, are part of the Sunni Muslim alliance that intervened in Yemen
in March 2015 against the Houthis who hold Sanaa and most big urban centers.
The deal, calls for the formation of a new cabinet of no more than 24
ministers within 30 days that would have equal representation for northerners
and southerners. STC would join any political talks to end the war.
Military and security forces from both sides, including tens of thousands
of UAE-backed STC forces, would be placed under the defense and interior
ministries.
United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths, who is trying to restart talks to
end a war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, said the deal was an
important step in peace efforts.
The ceremony was attended by the UAE’s de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, along with Hadi and STC leader
Aidarous al-Zubaidi.