Dead and wounded .. Renewed fighting in South Yemen threatens to wipe out the Riyadh Agreement

Several soldiers were killed and others were injured in military confrontations that broked out on Monday afternoon in Abyan Governorate, South Yemen, between the southern forces of the Southern Transitional Council and the Yemeni government forces, which are controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Local sources and media said that an officer in the Special Forces of the Yemeni government was killed in the confrontations along with a number of other soldiers. Ambulances were seen transporting the dead and injured to the Shugra Hospital.

"Six people were killed and four others were wounded. They were moved at Jaar City Hospital in Abyan," sources close to the southern forces said.

Sources told "south24" that the government forces bombed the southern forces with mortar shells, in al-Tiriya front in Abyan governorate.

Violent fighting erupted after a relative lull that lasted for weeks in the province. The renewed fighting coincided with the efforts to declare a joint government between south and north Yemen, in accordance with the Riyadh Agreement, which was signed by the Transitional Council and the Hadi government in Riyadh on November 5, 2019.

The official spokesman for the southern forces, Mohammad al-Naqib, accused the Yemeni government forces, "the Muslim Brotherhood militia," of seeking to permanently disrupt the Riyadh agreement and form the government.

STC's president, Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, had met, individually, with Yemeni President Hadi in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, days ago. Political sources described the meeting as "positive."

Political sources told "South24" that the government militants escalated their attacks, aiming to undermine the peace efforts sponsored by Saudi Arabia in South Yemen.

Meanwhile, Anadolu News Agency said that a source in the office of the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said, "The Yemeni government and the Houthis have received a final copy of the draft "joint declaration" to end the conflict in the country.

Southern officials accuse regional powers, including Qatar and Turkey, of funding the Islamist groups loyal to the government that are fighting in Abyan Governorate and include in their ranks AQAP members.

Since May, South Yemen has witnessed violent confrontations between southern forces and armed military units affiliated with the Yemeni government, controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, and directly subordinate to the notorious Yemeni Vice President, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.