Aden (Debriefer) The Yemeni interior minister, General Ibrahim Haidan, has ordered the formation of a ministerial panel to contact and coordinate with a security battalion tasked with guarding the UN agencies active in the Yemeni interim capital, Aden.
These orders come as the Riyadh Agreement's military and security arrangements still wait application, three years after the pact was inked by the Yemeni official government and the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).
The panel's task will be limited to regularly reporting on the battalion's readiness to fulfill its mission and protect the UN agencies and their staff, sources said.
While it is affiliated to the STC, it is unknown if the battalion answers to the Security Belt or to the STC's chairman directly.
In their report last week, UN Security Council experts told the most powerful body that the UN-recognized government had no actual influence in the STC-held interim capital.
Minister Haidan issued the orders at a meeting with the security liaison officer of the UN security and safety office in Aden, Saba said.
The meeting discussed how to boost joint cooperation and coordination, and how security authorities can facilitate the UN body's work, the Yemeni Riyadh-based news agency added.
The interior minister highlighted the need for commitment to applying the Riyadh Agreement in full, and for constant efforts to unite all the security bureaus and units under the interior ministry.
