Yemen’s southern separatists abandon self-rule to pursue power-sharing plan
The news comes three months after the Southern Transitional Council announced self-rule in parts of southern Yemen.
Yemen's southern separatists have rescinded their declaration of self-rule, ending a months-long power struggle and paving the way for reconciliation between nominal allies in the fight against the country’s Houthi rebels.
“We have achieved the goals,” Nizar Haitham, spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), tweeted Wednesday. “Stressing that we are always alongside our great southern people, carrying their noble national aspirations and goals that cannot be undone.”
In late April, the STC declared a state of emergency and autonomous rule in the south of the country, including the strategic port city of Aden, which functions as the de facto capital of the Yemeni government. The separatists accused Yemen's UN-recognized government of corruption and mismanagement.
The declaration threatened to unravel a Saudi-brokered deal signed in Riyadh in November 2019 between the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the separatists. The power-sharing agreement to end months of infighting in Aden was never implemented.
