YEMEN Press Agency

Al-Jabwani accuses Hadi of handing over power in Aden to STC

ADEN, July 31 (YTPA) – The resigned former Minister of Transport in the coalition-backed government, Saleh al-Jabwani, has on Wednesday accused the Hadi government of officially handing over Aden to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) by decree.

“The self-rule is an illegitimate decision by a rebel group that took control of Aden while being a failure on the ground, so why celebrate its abolition?” Al-Jabwani said on Twitter, commenting on the STC’s decision to annul its declaration of self-rule over the south of Yemen.

“The Emirati tactic has succeeded in converting the coup in Aden into a legitimate authority (…) so which success are you celebrating?!” he added.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) has announced its abandonment of declaration of self-administration for all of Southern Yemen.

The decision was reportedly made after several days of talks in Saudi Arabia between the STC and the Saudi-backed Hadi puppet government.

The STC announced that it “is abandoning its self-rule declaration in order to allow the implementation of a power-sharing deal known as the Riyadh Agreement,” spokesman Nizar Haitham wrote on Twitter earlier.

He acknowledged that the announcement came after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates exerted pressure on the STC to row back on their decision.

Saleh al-Jabwani is known as a fierce opponent of the southern Yemeni separatist movement and their UAE allies, and is considered an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen.

E.M