Ali Abdullah Al Kathiri, the official spokesman for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council of Yemen, announced the cessation of all forms of communication with the parties to the Riyadh Agreement.

The council accused the government of trying to thwart the Riyadh Agreement, after what it called “militias” storming a sit-in square in Shabwa governorate.

Al-Kathiri added that the council called on its representatives in discussions to complete the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement to stop all forms of communication with the other party.

The Council stressed that this position will continue until the file of Shabwa Governorate is placed at the forefront of the implementation priorities of the Riyadh Agreement, according to it.

It is noteworthy that the Southern Council and the legitimate Yemeni government signed the Riyadh Agreement in November 2019.

And last week, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council suspended its delegation’s participation in the consultations to implement the Riyadh Agreement with the Yemeni government, justifying this step by arresting some of its leaders by the legitimate government forces.

Al-Kathiri said that the “transitional” decision came against the background of what he described as the “kidnapping” of the leader Muhammad Jaafar bin al-Sheikh, head of the local office of the council in Hadhramaut governorate (east of the country), in addition to a number of leaders in the governorate.

faltering agreement

And in implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, a joint government between the north and south was formed in late 2020, but the implementation of other items, especially those related to managing security affairs, faced complications, as the “transitional” announced earlier its withdrawal from the consultations to implement the agreement.

The Undersecretary of the Yemeni Ministry of Local Administration, Abdul Latif Al-Fajeer, said that any escalation or attempt to thwart the Riyadh Agreement will only serve the Houthis.

He added that the failure of the agreement would lead to the return of violence and fighting to Aden, stressing that the Transitional Council is a partner in the government, and should not be opposed to it at the same time.