Saudi stops 6 Yemen ministers from returning to Aden

Saudi Arabian authorities have reportedly prevented six ministers of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government from returning to the port city of Aden for the implementation of the so-called Riyadh Agreement reached between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) earlier this month.

According to the Yemen Press Agency which also cited political sources, Hadi’s Minister of Education Abdullah Malas stated on his Facebook page that he was prevented from accompanying Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed who arrived yesterday to the Yemeni interim capital of Aden, amid obstacles set by the UAE in agreement with Saudi Arabia that a number of Hadi government ministers affiliated with the Islah party would not return to Aden.

The sources said that the ministers prevented from leaving Riyadh included the ministers of youth and sports, oil, health, deputy minister of service and undersecretary of interior ministry.

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The power-sharing Riyadh Agreement, overseen by the Saudis was meant to end the clashes of interests with fellow coalition partner the UAE, which supports the separatist ambitions of the STC, whilst the Saudis want to restore Hadi to power in the state capital Sanaa, by pushing back the Houthi movement, which has been in control of the city since 2014.

However there have been several reports of clashes in Aden between Hadi’s mercenary forces and the UAE-trained Security Belt aligned with the STC, most recently as of yesterday. Local sources have said that that the Security Belt forces had taken control of the Al-Saylah area in the Dar Saad district of the Aden province, after fierce clashes with gunmen backed by Saudi forces.

Additionally, the alleged refusal by the STC, who were in control of Aden from August, to return the presidential palace and other headquarters to the Hadi government have also hindered the realisation of the Riyadh Agreement.

The STC said in a statement on its Twitter account that it may be “forced to stop” what it described as “provocations by the Muslim Brotherhood’s military leadership in the Hadi government, which aims to obstruct the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.” The STC called on Hadi’s government to stop these “provocations and violations”.

Riyadh delays the inevitable; the Houthis have the power in Yemen, Hadi has no authority

Read the terms of the Yemeni peace deal here