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UAE-backed southern separatists have started withdrawing from the military positions they recently captured inside the key Yemeni city of Aden, a source in the Saudi-led coalition announced on August 11.
“We welcome the initial steps of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and we are observing its complete withdrawal from the positions it had captured [in Aden],” the al-Arabiya TV quoted the unmanned source as saying.
The withdrawal of STC forces came after a warning airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition. Late on August 10, the coalition warned that the separatists will be targeted, if they didn’t withdraw from all the positions they captured from the forces supporting Saudi-backed President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
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Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, head of the STC, said that the council remains committed to the legitimacy of the internationally-recognized Hadi government, in what appears to be a step to de-escalate the tension with Saudi Arabia.
Aden clashes erupted earlier this week as a result of an attack by Hadi forces on pro-STC protestors. According to the U.N., the clashes the claimed the lives of more than 40 people and injured 260 others.
Now with the STC fulfilling the Saudi-led coalition’s demands and withdrawing from Hadi forces’ positions in Aden, the conflict appears to be witnessing its final days.
