A member of the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC) mans a checkpoint in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, on April 27, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has expressed deep concern about a declaration of self-rule in Yemen�s south by separatists allied to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reaffirming the world body�s strong commitment to Yemen�s unity and sovereignty.

On Sunday, the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC), a UAE-backed secessionist organization, declared emergency rules in Yemen�s southern provinces.

The separatists, once part of the Saudi-led military coalition against Yemen and loyal to the Arab country�s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, broke ties with Saudi-sponsored militants in Yemen and accused Hadi of corruption and mismanagement.

The Saudi-led coalition, comprised of a number of Saudi Arabia�s allies, the most significant of them being the UAE, invaded Yemen in March 2015 to restore power to Hadi, who had fled to Riyadh earlier amid a popular uprising.

The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and pushed the entire country close to the brink of famine.

On Wednesday, members of the UNSC issued a statement expressing their concern that the STC�s actions could distract from the efforts of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to secure a nationwide ceasefire, confidence-building measures, and the restart of a Yemeni-led and owned inclusive political process.

They also urged the self-proclaimed Hadi regime and the Houthi movement, whose members have helped establish a new government following Hadi�s escape, to reinforce their engagement with a view to reaching agreement on the Special Envoy�s proposals as soon as possible.

The UNSC also called on the STC to expedite the implementation of an agreement that was signed by the UAE-backed separatists and Hadi�s self-proclaimed regime in Riyadh last November with the aim of bringing about reconciliation between the two sides.

The agreement came after the separatists took over Aden - once declared by Hadi his regime�s temporary capital in Yemen - and opened a chapter of months-long bloody clashes between the two sides.

The STC was founded in 2017 and has since been receiving full support from the UAE, largely due to Abu Dhabi�s desire to exert control over southern Yemeni ports and through them over the maritime routes around the Arabian Peninsula.

A day after the STC declared the establishment of its so-called emergency rule in southern Yemen, the deeply-divided Saudi-led military coalition called on the separatists to return to the Riyadh agreement.

The clashes that preceded the Riyadh deal and the Emirati-backed forces� recent declaration expose wide gaps between Saudi Arabia and the Emirates concerning the direction of a war that has fallen short of all of its objectives.

SOURCE: PRESS TV