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The head of the Southern Transition Council (STC) Aidarous al-Zubaïdi here on August 29, 2019. An agreement was reached in Jeddah between the government and the STC on October 25, 2019. Nabil HASAN / AFP

Separatist forces and the Yemeni government in exile have reached an agreement, sponsored by Saudi Arabia, for power-sharing in the south of the country. A step towards the de-escalation of the Yemeni crisis.

This draft agreement, concluded in Jeddah, under the leadership of Saudi Arabia , provides for the return of the government in exile in the city of Aden. In return, the separatists in the South would get several ministerial positions in the new government. This rapprochement between the forces loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a refugee in Riyadh, and the separatists could appease the deadly battles fought by these two former allies.

The draft agreement provides for the new government to integrate ministers from the Southern Transition Council (TCC) and return to Aden.

Because it must be remembered, since the beginning of the conflict, the loyalist forces, backed by the Saudis, and the separatists, formed by the United Arab Emirates, were united against the Houthi rebels. These, with the blessing of Iran , control since 2014 the capital Sanaa and north-west of Yemen. But in August, the separatists in the South had dislocated forces loyal to President Hadi of the city of Aden. The seizure of this strategic port had therefore marked the dislocation of the anti-Houthi front.

The final version of this agreement should be signed no later than Tuesday October 29th. In the presence of the internationally recognized President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zoubaïdi.