The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen announced Monday (June 22nd) a ceasefire between the Yemeni government and southern separatists, who declared autonomy for the region in late April after several military victories. The two sides will hold further talks on the truce in Saudi Arabia.

The continuation of this cease-fire would be favorable to the coalition, which has intervened since 2015 alongside the Yemeni government in the war against the Houthi rebels supported by Iran, regional rival of Saudi Arabia. The latter control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

The announcement comes after the separatists of the Southern Transition Council (STC) took control of the strategic Yemeni island of Socotra, off Aden, on Saturday. The STC and the government are in principle allies in the military coalition which is fighting the Houthi rebels.

"The coalition welcomes the response of the legitimate government of Yemen and the Southern Transitional Council to demand a comprehensive cease-fire, de-escalation and a meeting to be held in the kingdom," said the spokesman. word of the coalition in a press release relayed by the official media.

War in war

According to him, this process will advance the application of a power-sharing agreement in the South concluded in Riyadh in November 2019 between the two parties, but which quickly collapsed.

This war in war has complicated a conflict which, in half a decade, has left tens of thousands of people dead and caused, according to the UN, the worst ongoing humanitarian crisis in the world in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

The South was an independent country until unification in 1990, and the separatist sentiment is still strong. The separatists, based in Aden, had proclaimed autonomy for the South on April 26 after the collapse of the peace agreement with the government.

With AFP

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