"The Coalition urges for an immediate end to any steps contrary to the Riyadh Agreement, and work rapidly toward its implementation, citing the wide support for the agreement by the international community and the United Nations. The Coalition has and will continue to undertake practical and systematic steps to implement the Riyadh Agreement between the parties to unite Yemeni ranks, restore state institutions and combat the scourge of terrorism," the coalition said in a statement, released by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The coalition stressed the need to prioritize the interests of the Yemeni people "above all else."
In the early hours of Sunday, Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), created by the rebels back in 2017, introduced self-governance in the country’s southern provinces, declaring a state of emergency there and tasking armed forces with implementing it. The council accused the Yemeni government of plotting against the Yemeni people, of being engaged in corruption and of failing to pay salaries to both servicemen and civilians for several months. However, the provinces of Abyan, Shabwah, Hadhramaut, Al Mahrah, and Socotra refused to support the council's decision.
In November 2019, the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the STC signed in Riyadh the peace agreement, aimed at putting an end to the armed conflict, ongoing since 2015. Apart from other things, the agreement envisioned that the separatists should return the previously seized facilities and state institutions in Yemen's south to the government.
