ADEN, Yemen, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced early on Wednesday giving up its previous self-governance decision following three months of official declaration in the country's southern main regions.
According to the STC's Spokesman Nizar Haitham, abandoning the self-governance declaration came in favor of implementing the stalled power-sharing deal brokered by Saudi Arabia last year.
The STC's leadership accepted a proposal presented by Saudi Arabia, aimed at accelerating the implementation of the Riyadh deal and ending the conflict in the country's southern part, said the spokesman on his official Twitter account.
"The STC officially decided to rescind its self-governance decision to start implementing the Riyadh Deal to ensure security and stability and to demonstrate a joint effort to confront Houthi militias and terrorist groups," he added.
Giving up the self-governance decision coincided with republican decrees issued by Yemen's President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to form a government that includes representatives of northern and southern Yemen and appointing a governor and security director for Aden province.
Hadi issued his presidential directive to the country's current Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik to form the new power-sharing government during the upcoming weeks in another positive step towards de-escalation in southern Yemen.
The STC's spokesman stressed partnership in all areas with the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, saying that their fighting against the Iranian interventions will continue.
"We affirm the continuing and deepening of our strategic partnership with the Arab coalition to achieve our common goals," Nizar noted in his statement.
In April, the STC leaders announced a plan for implementing a self-ruled administration in the country's southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces.
The STC's self-governance declaration escalated the tensions with Yemen's government that mobilized hundreds of troops to Aden, sparking armed confrontations in Abyan.
Last year, Saudi Arabia persuaded the STC and Yemen's government to hold reconciliation talks, which succeeded in reaching a deal to form a new technocrat cabinet of no more than 24 ministers.
But numerous previous obstacles prevented the implementation of the deal's provisions, including failure to form a new government or achieving permanent stability in the country's southern part.
The main points of the deal also included the return of the exiled Yemeni government to Aden and the unification of all military units under the authority of the country's interior and defense ministries.
The Saudi-brokered deal excluded the Iranian-backed Houthis who are still controlling the capital Sanaa and other northern provinces of the war-torn Arab country.
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 areas including Sanaa. Enditem
