Saudi Arabia, Yemen's STC discuss collaboration against Houthis

Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber, yesterday met with the president of the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, to discuss “efforts to jointly confront the Houthi group forces.”

“Al-Zubaidi and I discussed the importance of the kingdom’s support to the Yemeni government, as well as plans to unite our ranks to confront the intransigence of the Houthi militia,” Al-Jaber said on Twitter, slamming what he described as Houthis’ “rejection to the United Nations’ consultations.”

Al-Jaber described the meeting as “fruitful,” pointing out that they had also discussed the “completion of the Riyadh Agreement implementation.”

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The Saudi-brokered pact was signed between the Yemeni government and the STC in November 2019, with the aim to end a standoff between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and southern separatists.

Talks with Al-Zubaidi, who has been in the kingdom for weeks, comes in light of ongoing military clashes between the Yemeni forces and the Houthis in recent months across several fronts, especially in the Marib province.

On Monday, the Yemeni government forces were reported to have “largely reinforced” its military to complete the liberation of Yemen’s oil province of Shabwa from the Houthis’ grip.