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Can new mechanism advance stalled Riyadh Agreement in southern Yemen?

Neither the Riyadh Agreement nor the mechanism for accelerating it can fundamentally end the conflict in southern Yemen, but will rather help suspend it and control its rhythm, according to analysts.
A reinforcement convoy of Yemen's Security Belt Force dominated by members of the the Southern Transitional Council (STC) seeking independence for southern Yemen, heads from the southern city of Aden to Abyan province on November 26, 2019, amid tensions with the forces of Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. - Saudi Arabia brokered on November 5 a power sharing agreement between Yemen's internationally recognised government and southern separatists of the STC, in a bid to end infighting that had d

Nearly eight months after the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) signed the first version of the Riyadh Agreement on Nov. 5, 2019, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, under the auspices of King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and with the participation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two Yemeni parties began implementing the Riyadh Agreement with a new 30-day mechanism on July 29.

Under the agreement, the two parties committed to activating the role of all state authorities and institutions in southern Yemen, reorganizing the armed forces under the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, reorganizing the security forces under the leadership of the Ministry of Interior, as well as ending all offensive media campaigns, in order to normalize the relationship between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the STC, which is supported by the UAE.

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