Credit: Gary Raynaldo / Southern Yemeni Immigrants in USA rally in New York City Aug. 19, 2019

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Yemen’s main separatist group in the country’s south, the Southern Transitional Council, declared it would establish self-rule in areas under its control. The STC announced emergency rule over the weekend in Aden and all southern governorates, saying it would take control of Aden’s port and airport and other state institutions such as the central bank. The STC is supported by the United Arab Emirates.  The Saudi-backed Yemeni government warned of “dangerous and catastrophic consequences”.  A Saudi-led coalition launched a military intervention in support of the Yemeni government in 2015, after Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa. The UAE is a member of the coalition but supports the southern separatists. The Southern Separatists Movement, or South Yemen Movement, is a political movement and paramilitary organization active in the south of Yemen since 2007, demanding  secession from the  Republic of Yemen and a return to the former independent state of South Yemen.  Its political branch, the Southern Transitional Council led by Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, is the de facto leadership in all provinces of the south.

Secretary of State Pompeo Says U.S. “Concerned” Over South Yemen Action 

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times /  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  briefs reporters at Department of State headquarters in Washington D.C.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday Washington was ‘concerned’ over STC  declaring self-rule in Yemen’s south, warning such actions threatened efforts to revive talks between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels.  “Such unilateral actions only exacerbate instability in Yemen,”  Pompeo said in a statement. “They are especially unhelpful at a time when the country is threatened by COVID-19 and also threaten to complicate the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to revive political negotiations between the government and the Houthi rebels.”

In 2015, Saudi Arabia initiated a bombing campaign against its southern neighbor Yemen in what was essentially a proxy war — the Saudis backed a government that had been forced out of the capital by the Houthis, a group allied with Iran. The war in Yemen continues — in part with bombs the Saudi-led coalition of countries bought from the U.S.