Yemen separatists declare self-rule in Aden and south

A fresh complication in famine-ridden Yemen’s civil war: The UAE-backed Yemen separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared it would “self-govern” the key port city of Aden and other southern provinces. The council accused Yemen’s Saudi-backed government of corruption and mismanagement, which countered with a threat of “disastrous consequences.” While fighting the Houthi insurgency in other parts of Yemen together, the two coalition allies have fallen out over Aden. The UAE supported the separatists’s capture of Aden last year, while Saudi Arabia backs the forces loyal to the former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

To help the country combat coronavirus, the Saudi-led coalition on Thursday night extended by one month the unilateral two-week ceasefire that was rejected by the Houthis.