South Yemen's Transitional Council Head Departs For Russia

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published March 18, 2023 | 08:59 PM

The head of the separatist Transitional Council of South Yemen, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, has departed for Russia from the United Arab Emirates to discuss Yemeni internal and regional issues, the council said on Saturday

DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2023) The head of the separatist Transitional Council of South Yemen, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, has departed for Russia from the United Arab Emirates to discuss Yemeni internal and regional issues, the council said on Saturday.

"At an official invitation of the Russian government, the head of the Transitional Council of South Yemen, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, accompanied by the transitional council's delegation, departed on Saturday from Abu Dhabi to the Russian capital of Moscow," the statement read.

The Yemeni officials are expected to hold a number of meetings in Russia to discuss, among other things, international efforts to launch a political process on peace establishment in Yemen, Yemeni newspaper Aden al-Ghad reported.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces and the Houthi rebels since 2014. The situation was exacerbated in March 2015, when the Saudi-led coalition, working in cooperation with the internationally-recognized Yemeni government, began conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis.

The latter have retaliated by attacking Saudi forces and firing missiles into Saudi Arabia.

In April 2022, a two-month ceasefire was declared in Yemen under the auspices of the United Nations and the support of the parties to the conflict. In early August, the warring sides agreed to extend the truce until October 2 to negotiate an expanded truce.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced on October 2 that the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels had failed to negotiate the extension of the truce. The rebels refused to extend the deal demanding that the government pay officials in the Houthi-controlled areas and threatening to hit oil infrastructure in Yemen and neighboring countries.