Ryad (AFP)
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday called on the separatists and the Yemeni government to negotiate for appeasement in southern Yemen, the scene of deadly clashes.
These clashes are set against the backdrop of disagreements between the separatists, backed by the United Arab Emirates, and the Saudi-backed government, two entities that are theoretically part of one and the same camp.
They have undermined the alliance between Ryad and Abu Dhabi, the pillars of the coalition that intervenes in Yemen against Houthi rebels.
In a joint statement, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged both Yemeni sides to work with a committee to stop the clashes.
The two countries also urged these parties to "quickly engage in dialogue (which Saudi Arabia wants to hold) in Jeddah to face the consequences of developments in southern Yemen".
For the moment, the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi refuses to talk as long as the separatists do not leave all the positions conquered in Aden.
After the fighting earlier this month in this large southern city, the theoretical seat of the Yemeni government, clashes moved into the neighboring province of Abyane and then into Chabwa province, further north.
After being chased out of Sanaa in 2014 by the Houthis, power has declared Aden Yemen's "provisional capital," where a Saudi-led military coalition is helping power against the Houthis.
South Yemen was an independent state before its merger with the North in 1990 and the separatists remained strong.
The war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people since 2014, including many civilians, according to NGOs, and has plunged the country into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the UN.
© 2019 AFP