Separatist council warns of more conflict in Yemen

By Hamdi Yildiz

YEMEN (AA) – Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Saturday issued a warning to international powers of more conflict in the war-ravaged country.

The UAE-backed separatist group sent letters to envoys of permanent UN Security Council member states, accusing the Yemeni government of working in tandem with terrorist groups.

The STC said the government wanted to spark a return of terrorism and violence in the southern provinces.

The Yemeni government blames UAE-backed separatist movements of rebelling against the government in Socotra province, which comprises six islands.

Last Saturday, government forces took back control of a military camp in Socotra that was seized by STC separatists.

On April 8, the Socotra Governorate blamed the STC of conspiring to kill Governor Ramzi Mahrous.

Armed groups of the STC made a failed attempt to seize Socotra in October 2019, and UAE-backed militias raided the main airport last December and took hostages.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition that launched a massive air campaign in 2015 against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who overran much of Yemen, including capital of Sanaa, a year earlier.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis are since believed to have been killed and injured in the conflict, while 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.