UAE-backed military merger rejected by south Yemen body

The chairman of the General Council of Mahra and Socotra has rejected a call to merge or form a UAE-backed military force in the southern governorates, Aden Tomorrow reported.

Al-Muhri Bin Isa Al-Afar declined to establish a Security Belt Force in Al-Mahrah and Socotra Island on the basis of preserving independence and the historic identity from the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The United Arab Emirates participated in  the Saudi aggression against Yemen  to support  Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s governance in March 2015. Two years into the conflict, the Emirates set up and supported the militias, which call for secession from northern Yemen and Hadi’s rule.

The Mahra governorate is distinct from other southern governorates; the population speaks a modern south Arabian language, Mehri, and its capital is Al-Ghaydah.