Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has welcomed a request from Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) for a forum in Riyadh to resolve a deadly factional rift in the country’s south that has stoked armed conflict there and triggered tensions between Gulf Arab nations.
In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry called on southern factions to participate in the forum in the Saudi capital to “formulate a comprehensive vision for fair solutions to the southern cause”.
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Earlier on Saturday, PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi appealed to the different groups and figures in southern Yemen to come together for a meeting in Riyadh, according to Saba News Agency.
Saba quoted al-Alimi as underlining the “justness and centrality of the southern cause” and “rejected any unilateral or exclusionary solutions” to resolve the ongoing conflict.
Deadly tensions have erupted in recent days, after the separatist group Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched a major offensive in Yemen’s Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces, which make up nearly half of Yemen’s territory.
Oil-producing Hadramout borders Saudi Arabia, and many prominent Saudis trace their origins to the province, lending it cultural and historical significance for the kingdom. Its capture by the STC last month was regarded by the Saudis as a threat.
The STC is part of the anti-Houthi coalition in Yemen’s south. But it is said to harbour plans to carve out its own nation in southern Yemen, causing conflict with its partner, the internationally recognised Yemeni government led by the PLC.
The Saudis have accused its coalition partner, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of arming the STC, whose military operation is now threatening to split Yemen into three, while also posing problems to Riyadh’s own national security.
The UAE has denied those allegations, insisting that it supports Saudi Arabia’s security.
In a statement on Saturday, the UAE expressed its “deep concern” over the ongoing escalation and called on the Yemenis “to prioritise wisdom and exercise restraint to ensure security and stability in the country”.
The Saudi-backed coalition was formed in 2015 in an attempt to dislodge the Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen’s north.
But after a brutal, decade-long civil war, the Houthis remain in place while the Saudi and Emirati-backed factions attack each other in the south.
On Friday, air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition killed 20 people, according to the STC.
Late on Friday, the UAE announced the return of all Emirati armed forces personnel from Yemen, signalling a possible detente with Saudi Arabia.
The UAE’s defence ministry said that the withdrawal of its forces from Yemen is in accordance with its decision “to conclude the remaining missions of counter-terrorism units”.
“The process has been conducted in a manner that ensured the safety of all personnel and carried out in coordination with all relevant partners,” the ministry said in a statement published on the Emirates News Agency website.
Amid the UAE’s announcement of a withdrawal, the STC unilaterally declared that it aims to hold a referendum on independence from the north in two years.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, former Yemeni diplomat and parliament member Ali Ahmed al-Amrani, however, dismissed the idea of secession as a solution to the Yemeni crisis, saying it “does not reflect a national consensus”.
Meanwhile, Hisham Al-Omeisy, a political and conflict analyst focusing on Yemen with the European Institute of Peace, warned that if not resolved, the latest violence in the south could mark the start of a dangerous new phase in the war, with rival forces seeking to reshape control on the ground.
“We’re going to be basically seeing a bloody conflict, at least in the coming few days, to draw a new map in the south,” he added.
“This is prolonged fighting,” Al-Omeisy told Al Jazeera, describing a situation in which “warring factions are trying to gain territory and secure the upper hand.
“This is a proxy war within a proxy war,” he said, adding that the consequences could extend far beyond Yemen’s borders.
