UAE-backed separatists on Sunday declared self-governance of the war-torn Yemen’s south, as the peace deal with the Saudi-supported government crumbled, complicating its long conflict with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control much of the north.

The Southern Transitional Council accused the government of failing to perform its duties and of “conspiring” against the southern cause, and said self-governance had begun at midnight.

Yemen has been since March 2015 under brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition, in a bid to restore control to fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is Riyadh’s ally.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and injured in the strikes launched by the coalition, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

The coalition, which includes in addition to Saudi Arabia and UAE: Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan and Kuwait, has been also imposing a harsh blockade against Yemenis.

With this declaration, the coalition seems to be crumbling as UAE tends to admit a policy that does not match with that the Saudi Kingdom.

Source: AFP