Local Editor
Yemen’s southern separatists on Tuesday accused an Islamist party of complicity in last week’s deadly attack on Aden, the seat of government, exposing rifts in the Saudi-backed coalition battling the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement.
The separatists and Islamist party are united in their wider war on the Houthis, but have rival agendas for Yemen, and frictions between them over Thursday’s attack could destabilize the southern port city that is the coalition’s sole stronghold.
The missile strike killed 36 Security Belt soldiers, who are part of the southern separatists, at a military parade. It was claimed by the Houthis, whom the military alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has battled since 2015.
The Aden violence, along with an escalation in Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities, has complicated U.N. peace efforts to end a four-year war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
The UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) said the attack aimed to give Islamist party Islah an upper hand in Aden.
“This attack was planned to make all of Aden fall into the hands of Islah,” STC Vice-President Hani Ali Brik said.
Islah, an important ally of former President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, is tolerated by Saudi Arabia but viewed with suspicion by the UAE.
“Therefore, do not blame our people if they take to the streets to demand the removal of this government from southern lands,” the STC vice-president added at a press conference.
There was no immediate comment from Islah or Hadi’s resigned regime, nor was there any response in Islah-affiliated media.
Islah is viewed by the UAE as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated a terrorist group by Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
The attack was the worst violence to hit Aden, a coalition stronghold, since southern separatists clashed with Hadi’s resigned regime in 2017 in a power struggle.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
