Yemeni Minister of Transport, Saleh al-Jabwani, said that what he called the "rebel mercenary council" in Aden mobilizes his forces, pushes them to Zanzibar, and behaves like a state in Aden, which he did not do during the days of the Emirati presence, as he put it.
He added - in a tweet on Twitter - that this raises more than a question about the role of the Saudi army in Aden, and why it came, if not to support legitimacy, stressing that Riyadh must clearly define its options before it drowns in the sands of Aden.
The Southern Transitional Council and the Yemeni government exchanged accusations of obstructing the implementation of the Riyadh agreement signed last November, which ended fighting between the two sides in Aden last September.
The minister’s call comes after great tensions in the governorate of Abyan (45 km east of Aden) and the huge military build-up by the parties to the conflict (the legitimate government and the Southern Transitional Council) to control Aden as a matter of fact, despite the signing of the Riyadh agreement.
This agreement provides for the return of the current government to Aden, and the start of merging all military formations within the framework of the Ministries of Defense and Interior, and the formation of a government of political competencies with the participation of the Transitional Council, as well as military and security arrangements.