The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council said that the Riyadh agreement does not stipulate the return of the Yemeni government to Aden, describing it as illegitimate, hours after the government accused the council of obstructing the return of its president and a number of ministers to the temporary capital.
In a statement on Thursday evening, the council added that the Riyadh agreement signed late last year provides for the prime minister to return only to Aden.
He continued that the current Yemeni government is deemed to have lost legitimacy in accordance with the agreement concluded between the Southern Transitional Council and the Yemeni government under Saudi sponsorship.
The Transitional Council also said that the Saudi-Emirati coalition had not responded to its inquiries regarding the reasons for preventing its leaders from returning to Aden.
A Yemeni government source had said that the plane of Prime Minister Moeen Abdul Malik and a number of members of the government had not taken off from Riyadh airport to Aden, because of the deployment of gunmen affiliated with the UAE-backed Transitional Council in Aden airport and its surroundings.
The Yemeni government denounced this matter, describing it as "obstructing" the return of the legitimate government to Aden, considering that what happened was "lacking responsibility" in dealing with efforts to implement the Riyadh agreement signed between it and the Council.
She also stressed that this behavior ignores the difficult conditions of the citizens who are suffering the types of suffering and the low level of services since the events of last August, which were exacerbated by the unprecedented flood disaster in Aden recently.
She added that she holds the transitional council responsible for this "irresponsible" behavior and its consequences for the sons of Aden and the Yemeni people.
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A Yemeni source said earlier on Thursday that the Transitional Council gunmen had threatened to prevent the Prime Minister's plane from landing in the city's airport, noting that the latter and members of his government were still at Riyadh airport since 11:00 on Thursday.
They also vowed to prevent the government from entering Aden, which it had forcibly left after the council forces seized it last year, after armed confrontations with its forces.
The Prime Minister later returned with a number of ministers after the signing of the Riyadh Agreement in November 2019, but the agreement is awaiting until the moment that its provisions are implemented.
Saudi Arabia had sponsored the agreement stipulating the return of the government to the temporary capital, the activation of the Yemeni state authorities and the reorganization of all forces under the leadership of the Ministry of Defense.
The agreement set a two-month deadline for implementing its provisions, but most of them were not implemented, amid mutual accusations between the two parties.