NYT: Transitional Council Confirms Not to Retract Autonomy in Aden
YemenExtra
The political editor of the New York Times, Declan Walsh, wrote on Tuesday an article in which he highlighted the attempts of Saudi Arabia, which is waging war on Yemen for the sixth year in a row, to get away from this war.
He also covered the dispute taking place between the Emirati-backed transitional council and Saudi militias. The article stated that the Saudi crown prince is attempting to steer away from the devastating war in Yemen, especially after criticism and media reports confirming that Saudi Arabia cannot achieve a military victory in Yemen.
The writer said that the Transitional Council in Aden declaring autonomy early this week and controlling the central bank threatens for new chaos to erupt in the war-torn country.
This comes at a time when the main sponsors of the war, the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates, are trying to get away from the war because of their own issues and the failure to achieve any military victories in Yemen.
The article pointed out that the decline in international funding for humanitarian aid to the country threatened by famine due to the spread of COVID-19 may lead to exacerbating the major crisis which the United Nations described as the worst of its kind.
The writer referred to the United Nations statement on Corona in Yemen on Tuesday, whereas he said that although only one COVID-19 case was detected of a 60-year-old port operator, the risk still exists.
The article reiterated that the declaration of self-rule by the Transitional Council would restore clashes in Aden again, especially after the collapse of the de-escalation last Saturday.
On Saturday, the transitional fighters seized government offices and waved the flag of southern Yemen, the communist country that existed from 1967 to 1990.
Amid coalition appeals to resolve the conflict, UN envoy Griffith joined Yemen to call for de-escalation, especially since Aden and other regions are suffering from flood damage and are facing the threat of COVID-19. Last week, heavy rains in Aden flooded homes and killed at least 14 people.
In the midst of the crisis, a spokesman of the Transitional Council, Nizar Haitham, said they would not back down from their decision, adding: “Southerners have the right to govern themselves and manage their revenues.”
A senior transitional council official also confirmed that the UAE had stopped paying salaries amounting to $400 to $530 a month for its militias since January, while the Saudis had refused to compensate for the shortfall, which has sparked outrage among their ranks.
The writer then mocked the fact that the leadership of the two parties (Transitional Council and the Saudi-backed Hadi forces) was outside the country since Aidarous Al-Zubaidi was in Abu Dhabi and Hadi in Riyadh.
“It appears that the appetite of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen, has diminished, amid global condemnation of Saudi military tactics that have killed thousands of civilians in airstrikes,” the writer continued.
He added, “It is not clear how much control the Saudis or Emiratis exercise over their Yemeni agents.”