Aden, Yemen — The head of Yemen’s Presidential Council on Saturday said all military forces in southern Yemen will now operate under the command of the Saudi-led coalition, following a failed offensive by separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates.
“I announce the formation of a Supreme Military Committee under the command of the coalition forces,” the leader of the Saudi-backed council Rashad Al-Alimi said in a televised address.
He said the committee would be responsible for “training, equipping, and directing all military forces and formations” in southern Yemen.
The announcement comes a few days after Yemeni forces supported by Saudi Arabia recaptured large swathes of territory from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists, who seized two key provinces in December.
The oil-rich neighbors formed the backbone of the coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who overran the capital Sanaa in 2014 and still control much of the country.
But Riyadh and Abu Dhabi now find themselves backing competing factions within the Presidential Council, which is recognized by the international community and exercises its authority over much of the south.
The separatist STC faces an uncertain future with reports that its leader has fled the country, while a delegation it sent to Riyadh announced the group’s dissolution on Friday, though STC members elsewhere said that was done under duress.
Meanwhile, thousands rallied in support of the separatists in the city of Aden on Saturday, despite pro-Saudi officials prohibiting the gatherings.
The crowd waved the flag of former South Yemen, which was an independent state between 1967 and 1990, while others displayed portraits of STC president Aidarous Al-Zubaidi.
“Today, the people of the south gathered from all provinces in the capital, Aden, to reiterate what they have been saying consistently for years and throughout the last month: we want an independent state,” protester Yacoub Al-Safyani told AFP.
Others chanted anti-Saudi slogans.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government is headquartered in Aden, even as the city remains a stronghold for the STC.
