ADEN, Yemen, 28 (Xinhua) -- The announcement of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) to establish self-rule in areas under its control could hamper the years-long military campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, experts said.
Some Yemeni experts believe that the self-governance declaration will pose serious consequences for the government's efforts aimed at ending the Houthi coup and restoring the country's state institutions.
"The STC's declaration faced rejections from other local authorities in the country's southern part and it only serves the Houthis who will exploit it as a chance or pretext for expansion militarily in Yemen," said Mohammed Ahmadi, Yemeni political writer and analyst.
In a statement, the Aden-based STC declared a state of emergency and said that it would begin in self-governing the country's southern port city of Aden and other key neighboring southern provinces under its control.
It also assigned its own economic, legal, military, and security committees to manage all the state institutions located in the country's southern provinces.
Nabil al-Bukiri, director of the Arab Forum for Studies and Development, told Xinhua that "the announcement may be used by the STC just as a threat to expedite the implementation of the political provisions of the Riyadh deal and maybe for getting more political gains in the upcoming power-sharing government."
"Both the warring sides failed to implement the military and security provisions of the Riyadh deal and the self-rule declaration will lead to the formation of a new power-sharing government as soon as possible to avoid escalation in Aden," He said.
"Aden and neighboring southern provinces are already ruled by the STC and the self-governance declaration brought nothing new as it only came to divert the public's attention after the demonstrations staged against the deterioration of services," said Nabil.
The STC's statement stated that "the decision to control and self-govern the country's southern provinces came in light of the failure, mismanagement and rampant corruption of the Yemeni government, which practiced the policy of subjugation and starvation of the people."
But Yemen's government based in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh issued an immediate response to the STC's announcement, saying that it would have catastrophic consequences for the power-sharing deal signed in last November.
The country's Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hadhrami said in a statement posted on Twitter that the STC's announcement is "a resumption of its armed insurgency ... and an announcement of its rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh Agreement."
"The so-called transitional council will bear alone the dangerous and catastrophic consequences for such an announcement," the Yemeni minister said.
However, Majed Aldaare, Aden-based expert and political analyst, told Xinhua that "the STC's self-governance announcement came as a result of the government's absence to manage the situation and provide services to the citizens living in the southern cities."
Aldaare said that "the STC dealt with the Saudi-brokered deal positively and offered many concessions to the government before declaring a self-rule in the southern provinces."
People living in Aden and other southern main cities reacted positively to the STC's self-governance announcement and considered it as a glimpse of hope to end their long-suffering, said Alaa Adel Hanash, political writer and observer.
"People waited for this moment for a long time, and some southern provinces witnessed major celebrations after this historic announcement," said Hanash.
The expert believes that "the STC will definitely succeed in managing the southern provinces for several factors including gaining massive public support that will help the council perform its duties more easily and improve the citizens' living conditions."
On Monday, the Saudi-led coalition demanded an end to any escalation between the Yemeni parties, a day after the STC announced a state of emergency in Aden and other southern provinces.
The anti-Houthi Arab coalition also vowed to undertake practical and systematic steps to ensure the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Riyadh Agreement was signed in November last year between the elected Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council, ending months of stand-off between the two sides in Aden.
The main points of the deal include the unification of all military forces under the ministries of interior and defense, and the formation of an efficient government made up equally between the north and south of Yemen. Enditem
