Yemen's southern separatists demand role in Oman peace talks

Yemen’s southern separatists are seeking a role in back-channel peace talks between Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition fighting for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and the country’s Houthi rebels, according to a statement Friday.

Reports of revived communications between Yemen's warring sides in the Gulf Arab country of Oman, a traditional mediator in the Middle East, surfaced earlier this year. Yemen's presidential council leader, Rashid al-Alami, confirmed the talks in comments to London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday.

The separatists, known as Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC), issued a statement Friday saying said they should be part of the talks.

The council is an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-financed militias propped up by the United Arab Emirates. Though the UAE is officially part of the Saudi-led coalition, its support for the separatists has threatened the alliance. The separatists control much of southern Yemen, and have repeatedly pushed to break up Yemen into two countries, as it was between 1967 and 1990.

"The conflict over security along Wadi Hadramawt drags Saudi Arabia into engagement on multiple fronts."

How growing rivalries in southern Yemen spell uncertainty https://t.co/p0UkWRwR4g

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) February 12, 2023

Yemen’s war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept down from their northern stronghold and seized the capital, Sanaa, along with much of the country's north. In response, the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government to power.

Al-Alami, a Saudi ally and currently on a diplomatic tour of Europe, became head of Yemen's presidential council last April. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that while he supports the Omani-brokered dialogue, any final peace agreement must be between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels.

Yemen's war has killed more than 150,000 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, including over 15,000 civilians, and has become a proxy war in the region. It has also spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, pushing the Mideast’s poorest nation into near famine.