ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) arrived on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia's city of Jeddah to participate in reconciliation talks with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
"President of STC Aidarous Zubaidi along with a number of southern politicians arrived in Jeddah in response to Saudi Arabia's official invitation," an official of the STC told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The official said that the talks between Yemen's government and the STC's negotiating team will start in the next few days in Jeddah under the auspices of Saudi Arabia.
On August 11, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry called on Yemen's government and leadership of the Aden-based STC to engage in direct talks to solve the issues peacefully away from violence.
The Saudi calls came after military units of the STC seized the strategic southern city of Aden along with all the government's military bases following days of street fighting.
More forces of Saudi Arabia were deployed in Yemen in a bid to contain ongoing military escalation between the two warring rivals in different southern areas of the war-torn Arab country.
In the oil-rich Shabwa province, Saudi military units backed by several armored vehicles arrived in the city where sporadic fighting is taking place between the STC and Yemen's government forces.
Last month, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government set the withdrawal of the forces belonging to the STC from Aden as a precondition for starting dialogue under the auspices of Saudi Arabia.
The STC is a part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition to fight Iran-backed Houthi militias in northern Yemen in a war that has rekindled old strains between the north and south of Yemen.
The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces including the capital Sanaa.
