Aden (south24)

Southern Transitional Council (STC) affirmed, on Frieday, that it would never give up the project of South independence, despite its participation in the political process stemming from the Riyadh Agreement, and coinciding with mutual military withdrawals from the fighting points in Abyan Governorate, South Yemen.

This came a day after the Arab coalition announced a consensus between the two parties to the Riyadh agreement to complete all the necessary arrangements to implement the mechanism to accelerate the Riyadh Agreement, announce the new government within a week, and complete all military and security plans necessary to implement the military and security side.

Ali Al-Kathiri, a member of the Presidium of STC and a member of the negotiation team, said in statements to Al-Arabiya TV that the forces of the Fifth Brigade moved from Abyan governorate towards Al-Musimir in Lahj governorate, and a battalion of the Special Mission Forces moved from Aden to Al-Anad. As the beginning of a complete plan to make the "Riyadh Agreement a success."

"STC president, Major General Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, directed the implementation of the agreement," Al-Kathiri said, pointing out that the transitional council deals positively, and appreciates in "a high form the role that the political coordination team of  Saudi Arabia plays in Aden and Abyan."

The council’s leader stressed that STC would enter the new government with “our well-known national and liberal project,” denying that the council had abandoned its project and its cause.

"We are committed to our project and our vision, which is the project for which our people have done a lot ... Our project cannot be dissolved within the framework of this government, and we will remain attached to it .. We have a homeland, an identity and a state," Al-Kathiri told Al-Arabiya.

Local sources had informed south24 of the withdrawals of military units of the Southern Transitional Council and the forces loyal to the Yemeni government under the supervision of Saudi military forces, with the participation of representatives from both sides.

The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al-Jaber, published photos of Saudi military officers as well as officers from the southern and pro-Hadi government forces.

Al Jaber commented, "Hand in hand ... to implement the agreement, dispel the dust of battles, inject blood, unify ranks, and restore peace, security and stability."

The Gulf Cooperation Council welcomed the recent steps announced by the Saudi-led coalition on Thursday to successfully implement the Riyadh agreement.

The UAE described "the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement as one of the most important steps in constructive political dealing with the Yemeni crisis," according to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash.

"Hope returns again towards the serious engagement of the Yemeni parties with this agreement," said Gargash in a tweet. 

The United Arab Emirates withdrew its armed forces from Aden in October 2019, while some of its forces are still present among the Arab coalition's missions in Shabwa and Socotra.

The Prime Minister-designate, Moeen Abdul-Malik, the caretaker government spokesman and advisor to the Yemeni President, Ahmed bin Dagher, praised the declaration of the coalition and confirmed the completion of government's formation.

This is the third consensus during the year 2020 that the Arab coalition and Saudi officials announce, with the aim of pushing for the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, after the announcement of the security and military matrix in January and the announcement of the Saudi acceleration mechanism in late July.

Image: A fighter loyal to Southern Transitional Council (STC) stands on guard while deployed at Aden International Airport, taken on August 27, 2020 Saleh Al-OBEIDI AFP