The Saudi-led coalition announced on Monday that a ceasefire was agreed to between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC). The ceasefire was announced after the STC took control of Socotra, an island off Yemen’s coast. Both parties agreed to meet in Riyadh to work on implementing a peace deal that was negotiated in 2019.
The STC has been a thorn in the side of the US-backed Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting to regain control of north Yemen from the Houthis, so they can reinstate exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia were partners in the coalition when the war started in 2015, but the UAE’s backing of the STC has put a major strain on that relationship. The STC seeks to reestablish South Yemen as a separate country from the north and flies the flag of the former country.
After the STC captured Socotra, Hadi accused Saudi Arabia of betraying Yemen’s government since they did not act to retake the island. The Saudis will likely continue to encourage peace talks since they are having enough of a hard time fighting the Houthis.