What does Houthi advance mean for Yemen’s southern separatists?
The Southern Transitional Council remains somewhat active in southern Yemen after its territorial defeat by the Saudi-backed government, and the Houthis are not interested in fighting the group at present.
Yemen’s southern separatists said they are still willing to cooperate with the Saudi-backed government in the fight against the Houthis after the Iran-backed group made sweeping gains in the south and west. One Yemeni expert said that the anti-Houthi coalition has been severely weakened by the tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over south Yemen, making a counteroffensive difficult.
The Houthis captured Mayyun Island on Friday, giving them control of the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait area along the Red Sea. They seized the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Thursday, following an offensive in the western Taiz province that began last week.
'Political and military failure'
Ambassador Khaled Alyemany, a US-based adviser to the Southern Transitional Council presidency, said the Houthi gains are “not a surprise and a result of accumulated political and military failure.”
