Saudi Arabia proposes Yemen framework to end dispute between allies

The proposal calls for a ceasefire in Abyan province and for Southern Transitional Council to revoke emergency rule

The emblem of the STC is seen between weapons held by Yemeni government soldiers at the headquarters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council in Ataq, Yemen August 27, 2019. Reuters

Saudi Arabia has allegedly proposed a power-sharing framework to end a dispute between Yemen's internationally recognised government and rival southern forces.

The Riyadh Agreement was brokered by Saudi Arabia last November after government forces clashed with those allied to the Southern Transitional Council in and around Aden, the interim seat of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi's administration.

However, the STC declared a plan to move towards self rule in late April, accusing the government of delaying a cabinet shake-up and not implementing a new power-sharing arrangement agreed in Riyadh.

Since then, clashes between the nominal allies have stalled UN efforts to end the war and protect Yemen’s fractured health system from the novel coronavirus.

The proposal, seen by Reuters, calls for a ceasefire in Abyan province and for STC to revoke emergency rule.

It suggests that Mr Hadi is appointed as governor and security head for Aden, and a premier is named to form a cabinet that includes the STC.

The STC would then remove its forces from Aden and redeploy in Abyan, following which the new government would be formed.

Last month senior negotiators from the council arrived in Riyadh at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to find a solution to a rift with pro-government forces in Aden.

It came as efforts were heightened to end the dispute after both the STC and the government accused each other of holding up an agreement hashed out in November on power-sharing in the south.

The STC has long sought self-rule in the south and accuses Mr Hadi's government of mismanagement and corruption, a charge it denies.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels on behalf of the government announced a unilateral truce last month, prompted by a UN plea for all sides to focus on the virus pandemic, but the Houthis have not accepted it and violence has continued.

Yemen has been mired in violence that has killed more than 100,000 since the coalition intervened in March 2015 on the side of Mr Hadi's government.

There has been military stalemate for years and the Houthis hold most big urban centres.

Yemen has been described as one of the world’s most desperate humanitarian disasters.