Southern forces deployed again in Yemen amid soaring tension

Local Editor

Forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) were deployed again on Sunday in Yemen's southern province of Abyan following two months of withdrawal, a regime official said.

"The STC's military units were deployed again in some areas in the neighboring province of Abyan amid military extensive military preparations," a local pro-regime official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The STC's military units were withdrawn from key areas and villages in Abyan in January in accordance with the Saudi-brokered peace deal signed with the resigned regime of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Hadi regime source blamed the Aden-based STC for dispatching heavy forces to the neighboring southern province of Abyan and attempting to escalate the situation again.

The STC is cooperating with the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and began with some necessary steps to secure the southern provinces against any attempts to destabilize the security situation, he said.

The STC official added that the Hadi loyalists brought several army units from the northeastern province of Marib and also began preparing for attacking Aden again.

Military experts believe that Hadi forces and the STC's military units are both stepping up military preparations and may engage in the upcoming armed confrontations because of the continuing soaring tension on-ground.

Last year, Saudi Arabia persuaded the STC and the Hadi regime to hold reconciliation talks, which succeeded in reaching a deal to form a new technocrat cabinet of no more than 24 ministers.

But numerous obstacles prevented the implementation of the deal such as forming a new government and achieving permanent stability in southern Yemen.

The deal also included the return of the resigned Hadi regime to Aden and the unification of all military units under the authority of the country's interior and defense ministries.

The Saudi-brokered deal excluded Yemen’s Houthis who are still controlling the capital Sanaa and other northern provinces of the war-torn Arab country.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team