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Yemen's shaky power-sharing pact faces uncertain future

The agreement between Yemen's government and secessionist forces in the south has shown little progress since it was signed more than a month ago.
Members of Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council attend a meeting in Mukalla, Yemen February 16, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman - RC1DE7E6FE50

Various deadlines have passed since Saudi Arabia brokered a deal between the Yemeni government and the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to share power. Little has been achieved. Disputes have not been entirely buried and Yemen’s south still faces uncertainty.

On Nov. 5, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and United Arab Emirates-backed STC inked the power-sharing pact in Riyadh to end the strife in southern provinces — particularly in Aden, Shabwa and Abyan. Both sides had been part of an Arab coalition battling the Iran-backed Houthis. Though more than a month has gone by, several terms of the agreement are unmet and each side accuses the other of interfering with the deal's implementation.

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