Yemen's leading separatist group will abandon its aspirations for self-rule to implement a stalled peace deal brokered by Saudi Arabia, the group announced early Wednesday in a step toward closing a dangerous rift between nominal allies in the five-year war.
Nizar Haitham, a spokesman for the separatists' Southern Transitional Council, an umbrella group of militias backed by the United Arab Emirates, said the separatists would give up their dreams of self-administration over southern Yemen to pursue the Riyadh agreement.
The announcement comes after months of infighting in a Saudi-led coalition that saw secessionists seize control of the southern port city of Aden, the interim seat of the internationally recognized government, igniting fierce clashes across much of the south.