Yemen’s UAE-backed separatists announce two-year transition towards independence in south

Yemen’s UAE-backed separatists on Friday declared the start of a two-year transitional process aimed at establishing an independent state, following their seizure of large swathes of the country’s south.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) said the transition would involve dialogue and a referendum on independence, even as its forces came under attack in deadly airstrikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition earlier in the day.

“We announce the commencement of a transitional phase lasting two years, and the Council calls on the international community to sponsor dialogue between the concerned parties in the South and the North,” AFP quoted STC president Aidaros Alzubidi as saying in a televised address.

However, he warned the group would declare independence “immediately” if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen again came under attack.

“This constitutional declaration shall be considered immediately and directly effective before that date if the call is not heeded or if the people of the South, their land, or their forces are subjected to any military attacks,” Alzubidi said.

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SCT forces seized large swathes of Yemen’s south, run by a fractious government with competing agendas, in a lightning and largely unopposed offensive last month.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced the government out of the country’s north in 2014, prompting a vain military intervention by the Saudi-led coalition.

With inputs from agencies