RIYADH: A delegation of Yemeni separatists allegedly held in Riyadh said on Friday they had to dissolve their movement after a failed land grab that infuriated Saudi Arabia, but the announcement was dismissed as made under duress by their colleagues based in the UAE.
Southern Transitional Council secretary general Abdulrahman al Subaihi, part of a high-level delegation that the STC alleges has been “arbitrarily detained” by Saudi authorities, read a prepared statement on Saudi TV.
The announcement escalates a rapidly evolving situation after the STC’s offensive in southern Yemen was put down by Saudi Arabia.
“We announce the dissolution of the Southern Transitional Council,” said the statement, which was also carried by the Saudi-sponsored Yemeni government’s news agency.
It pledged their “commitment to working towards achieving our just southern goal through