• Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) backed by United Arab Emirates-backed separatists.
• STC has recently made gains against Islah in the resource-rich southern Shabwa governorate.
• STC has also launched an “anti-terror” operation in Abyan.

Rashad al-Alimi, the president of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), has instructed separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates to halt their military activities in the south of the nation.

A bid by al-Alimi to intervene and halt an STC campaign against other factions inside the government umbrella, including the Islah Party, was made in the notification given to the chairman of the Southern Transitional Council and fellow council member Aidarous al-Zubaidi on Monday, which was seen by Reuters.

According to Al-Alimi, all military activities must come to an end until a power-sharing agreement’s provision for a troop redeployment in southern Yemen can be completely fulfilled.

The council’s internal conflicts highlight how fragile it is; its members frequently hold opposing ideologies and are only brought together by their shared antagonism to the Houthis, who are allied with Iran, and by their support for the Saudi-led military coalition.

The STC announced on Tuesday that it had begun a “anti-terror” operation in the neighbouring governorate of Abyan, which is where the resource-rich southern Shabwa governorate, where it has recently made progress against Islah.

Al-Qaeda would be “cleaned out of Abyan” during the operation, which would also secure other southern governorates including Aden, Yemen’s interim capital.

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