STC accuses Saudi-led coalition of thwarting Riyadh agreement

ADEN, April 9 (YPA) – The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) accused the Saudi-led coalition of thwarting the Riyadh agreement between the council and Hadi’s government, sponsored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on November 5th.

In a statement, the STC said that Muslim Brotherhood groups in Shabwah arrested the head of the council in the province, Ali Al-Slimani, and four of his companions, and took them to an unknown destination.

The statement accused the coalition of supporting local authorities in Shabwah to thwart the Riyadh agreement.

According to the statement, this action is in addition to a series of successive violations against the Riyadh agreement, which were deliberately committed by th authorities in Shabwah with the complicity of the Saudi-led coalition leadership stationed at the Ataq Airport (the center of the province) and supporting it.”

“If the Riyadh agreement really represents the kingdom’s policies, the coalition forces in Shabwah should create the right conditions and climates for its implementation,” the statement  said.

Islah Party groups have accused the leader of the STC, Ali Soleimani, and his successor, of attempting to carry out an assassination attempt against Hadi governor of Socotra, Ramzi Mahrous.

On November 5th, Hadi’s government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council  (STC) signed an agreement in Riyadh under the auspices of the kingdom, which includes the sharing of political, economic, military and security interests in southern Yemen, after fierce battles between Hadi’s forces and the STC forces.

Since August, the UAE-backed  militias have been trying to take control of the Ataq district center of Shabwah province, after Hadi government forces have drove the elite forces of the  STC out of  Ataq.

E.M