CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2020) Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has directed Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed to form a new government in line with Saudi Arabia's recent proposal to accelerate the implementation of the November Riyadh peace treaty and reconcile southern separatists with the central authorities, according to official Yemen News Agency SABA.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said that the Yemeni legitimate government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) have agreed to an urgent initiative proposed by the kingdom to resolve the conflict between the two warring parties.
According to Hadi's order, the current government continues to function in its caretaker capacity until the new administration is formed, SABA reported.
Meanwhile, Yemen's cabinet of ministers has praised the fresh peace mechanism sponsored by Saudi Arabia "to establish security" in the war-torn country, the news outlet said.
"The government has affirmed its desire to fully implement the accord and appreciates the efforts and support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to exercise the agreement that aims to establish and maintain security and stability in Yemen," government spokesman Rajeh Badi said, as quoted by SABA.
The spokesman has also welcomed the announcement by the STC to abandon its self-rule in seven Yemeni provinces in the country's south in response to Riyadh's initiative.
Badi expressed hope that such measures would be "a serious and real" step to move forward and implement the terms of the agreement within the prescribed deadlines, the news agency reported.
Among other things, the kingdom's proposal envisages the formation of a new country's government with the inclusion of candidates from the south and north within 30 days and the withdrawal of STC troops from the port city of Aden beyond the province, as well as the separation of the two sides' forces in the southern province of Abyan and their return to former positions.
Besides that, Hadi issued another order early on Wednesday, which appoints one of the STC leaders, Ahmed Hamid Lemlis, as Aden's governor.
Separatists seized power in Aden, which became the temporary capital of the territories liberated by government forces from the Houthi rebel movement, in August of 2019. Despite the Riyadh agreement, they continued to strengthen their power in the south of the country, ousting government supporters from military bases and government institutions.
