إضغط هنا لقراءة الخبر بالعربية
President of the UAE-backed southern transitional council Aidarous Al-Zubaidi said on Saturday south Yemen is close to restoring its state and that it is now building its institutions.
Meeting leaders of the council in Aden, he said: "The southern state is taking shape thanks to Allah and sacrifices and unity of the entire south".
The council is an armed faction which was established in 2017 with support from the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a member state in a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen to support the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Though it claims itself as the sole representative of the southern people, it does not enjoy support from all southern factions. But it remains the most powerful group in the south thanks to the unlimited UAE support. The UAE has trained and armed the council's forces, known as the security belt forces and provincial elite forces in southern and southeastern regions.
The council is calling for separation of the south from the north and reestablishing the pre-1990 state in the south under the name of the Arab South. The north and the south united in 1990.
Al-Zubaidi talked to the meeting about latest developments including conspiracies against the south, saying, "the battle today, with support from our brothers in the coalition, is not only against the Houthis, but also against terrorism which we are going to eradicate and against widespread corruption at all public institutions".
"The south is passing through a crucial turning point of revolution and statehood. God willing, we will achieve what we aspire to".
He reiterated that the leadership of the council is open to dialog with all political factions and that they will not ignore their responsibilities towards the people in Aden.
The council controls most of Aden, which is the interim capital of Hadi's government. In early 2018, it attempted to carry out a coup against the government. Tens of civilians were killed and injured in the failed coup.
Recently, Al-Zubaidi said the southern forces were mobilising to face the Houthi Group and expel the pro-government forces from the south. "A unified operations room for all military, security and resistance forces was formed to coordinate all combat operations and preserve internal security and stability," he said at the time.
He also called for liberating the Hadramout Valley from the pro-government forces, saying growing terrorist operations and instability in the valley required their intervention. That was the latest escalation by the council against the Houthis and the government, which have been fighting for five years.
