ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Indirect talks have been continuing for several weeks between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) under the auspices of Saudi Arabia.
The ongoing talks in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah aim at putting an end to the fighting between the two sides over the control of southern Yemen.
In August, the STC seized control of the strategic southern port city of Aden and neighboring main provinces following days of fighting with the government forces.
Saudi Arabia that has been leading an anti-Houthi military campaign intervened and managed to convince the political leaders of the STC and Yemen's government to engage in reconciliation talks in Jeddah.
Last week, the indirect talks achieved progress and were positively close to signing a political deal between the Yemeni government and the STC.
But reaching a final deal was postponed because of interventions of regional countries that pushed their local Yemeni parties to refuse sharing power with the STC, which is widely supported by the southern people.
An official of Aden's local authority confirmed to Xinhua that "some political factions have no real intention to end violence in the southern Yemeni regions through participating in the ongoing talks in Jeddah."
"Islamist politicians who are working within the Yemeni government are paying much attention to the interests of their regional supporters in Qatar and Turkey and ignore the Yemeni people," the Yemeni official said on condition of anonymity.
"The Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party which is dominating the Yemeni government is trying to serve other agendas against the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen's interests," he added.
Yemeni forces loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party continued to push military reinforcements toward southern provinces despite de-escalation calls made by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.
On the other side, the STC military units, backed by southern tribesmen, made military preparations for confronting possible attacks against their southern main provinces, particularly Aden, and mobilized hundreds of troops around the city.
"The political parties in Yemen's government are divided into two main factions with different visions regarding the STC," a government source said.
"One of the factions is trying to push the situation in southern Yemen into de-escalation and sharing power with the STC while the other is attempting to obstruct a deal with the STC and fuel violence in the country's south," the source explained, also on condition of anonymity.
Yemeni political observers warned against the failure of indirect talks in Jeddah as the situation in Yemen's southern part may head to deadly military conflict.
Any military confrontations between Yemen's government and the STC over controlling the country's southern part will be more dangerous than the years-long conflict raging in the country's north, according to the observers.
An official of the Southern Transitional Council said that a deal with the government "will be declared during the upcoming days with direct Saudi supervision."
"The power will be shared between Yemen's government and the STC after dismissing the current government and establishing a joint committee to oversee the new government's work in Aden," said the STC source anonymously.
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.
