South Yemen: Government Forces Arrest Hadrami Leaders of STC (Updated)

In South Yemen, The Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced Friday the suspension of its participation in the consultations regarding the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, after the arrest of its leaders in Shabwa Governorate, east of Aden.

"The fate of the head of the STC local leadership in Hadhramaut governorate, Mohammad Jaafar bin Sheikh Abu Bakr, and a number of the council's leaders in the governorate is still unknown" the STC spokesman, Ali Al-Kathiri, said early Friday. ⁽¹⁾

The STC described the arrest as "a treacherous kidnapping, carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood militia in Shabwa governorate, when it took them from a military checkpoint in the Khabiyeh area in Bir Ali to an unknown destination."

"In the face of this terrorist act, we hold the Muslim Brotherhood militias usurping the Shabwa governorate fully responsible for the lives of the kidnapped leaders, and we announce the suspension of the Southern Transitional Council delegation's participation in the consultations to implement the Riyadh Agreement" Al-Kathiri said. 

The STC leaders from Hadhramaut, were returning from Aden, where they participated in the activities of the fourth session of the National Assembly of the STC.

Neither the new Yemeni government nor official authorities have commented on the incident.

Since late May, consultations have been taking place in Riyadh between the delegations of the Yemeni government and the STC, under Saudi auspices, to discuss completing the implementation of the remaining provisions of the Riyadh Agreement.

On November 5, 2019, the Hadi government and the STC signed a Saudi-brokered reconciliation agreement, after the bloody events between the two sides, in which dozens were killed and wounded.

In the same month, Yemeni government forces loyal to Islamists took control of the city of Ataq, the center of Shabwa governorate, and most of the governorate's oil-rich districts.