Today, in the governorate of Abyan, in southern Yemen, the first stages of the withdrawal of government forces began, in implementation of the military part of the Riyadh Agreement between the legitimate government and the Southern Transitional Council, while demonstrators in Taiz in the west demanded the Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to return to running the country from the inside.
Military sources said that units of the 89th Brigade withdrew from their positions in the Sheikh Salem area, east of Zinjibar - the administrative center of Abyan Governorate - to the city of Lawdar, while armed men from the Transitional Council withdrew towards the city of Al-Dhalea.
Yesterday, a Saudi military committee began supervising the withdrawal of government forces and the Transitional Council militants from the fighting fronts between them in Abyan Governorate.
The Saudi-Emirati coalition announced yesterday that the Yemeni political components that signed the Riyadh agreement agree to form a new government that includes 24 ministers, including those of the Transitional Council within a week.
The Saudi Press Agency quoted an official in the coalition that his forces would oversee the implementation of the separation of military forces in Abyan and move them to the fronts, and from the capital (Aden) outside the governorate.
These developments come after months of consultations in Riyadh, with the aim of ending the tension between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council, and forming a new government.
Demonstrations in Taiz
In a related context, demonstrators in the coastal governorate of Taiz (center-west) called on Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to return to the country and administer it from the inside.
The demonstrators called, after Friday prayers today, for what they called a popular gift to improve the situation of the local currency, which has recently collapsed dramatically, and called on the Yemeni government and the Saudi-Emirati alliance to intervene to save the Yemeni riyal.
The demonstrators also renewed their demands for the government and the coalition to complete the restoration of control over the rest of Taiz, which are under the control of the Houthis.