Yemen government, separatists to form cabinet within week: Saudi officials

AFP | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Yemen's internationally recognised government and southern separatists will form a cabinet within a week, Saudi officials said Thursday, kicking off the implementation of a Riyadh-sponsored power sharing agreement after a series of delays.

But the deal has repeatedly stalled, further complicating the long and wider conflict between a Saudi-led military coalition backing the government and the Iran-backed Houthis who control the capital Sanaa.

"Consensus has been reached on the formation of the Yemeni government, comprised of 24 ministers, including ministers from the Southern Transitional Council and political components in Yemen," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted a coalition source as saying.

The cabinet would be announced immediately after a military reorganisation is completed "within a week", the source said.

The reorganisation would see armed forces from both sides separated and withdrawn from the southern port city of Aden and the flashpoint province of Abyan, the source added.

Coalition military observers began supervising the redeployment process on Thursday, with pro-government sources reporting "limited clashes" in Abyan between both parties.

A Saudi official said the troop redeployment was expected to take between four and seven days, and a Saudi diplomatic team along with coalition observers were supervising the process in Aden and Abyan.

"Until this hour, all sides appear willing to implement" the Riyadh Agreement, the official told AFP.

"After the military stage, we need the cabinet to start functioning quickly -- to restart institutions, improve the economic situation, to work for the Yemeni people."