Yemen: STC announces 2-year roadmap to independence
"This will be accompanied by a popular referendum regulating the exercise of the right to self-determination for the people of the South, through peaceful and transparent mechanisms"
Yemen's southern separatist movement said on Friday it aimed to hold a referendum on independence from the north in two years, as Saudi-backed forces fought to recapture areas the separatists seized last month in a move that triggered a major feud between Gulf powers.
"We announce the start of a transitional period lasting two years, and the Southern Transitional Council calls on the international community to sponsor dialogue between the concerned parties in the South and the North on a path and mechanisms that guarantee the rights of the people of the South within the specified timeframe," the statement read. "This will be accompanied by a popular referendum regulating the exercise of the right to self-determination for the people of the South, through peaceful and transparent mechanisms consistent with internationally recognised rules and practices, with the participation of international observers."
The announcement comes as the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government moved to recapture the crucial region of Hadramout from the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council.
The statement represented the clearest indication yet of its intention to secede, yet from Riyadh's point of view the move could be seen an escalation of the crisis.
The STC's sudden seizure of swathes of southern and eastern Yemen from the government in early December revealed a rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, causing a major fracture in the coalition against the Iran-aligned Houthi jihadists, who hold Yemen's capital Sanaa and the northwest.
Earlier on Friday, the Hadramout governor under the internationally recognized government said he had launched a "peaceful" operation to restore control over the area.