‘Southern Revolutionary Movement’ Describes Aden Developments as a Struggle for Power

 General view of Aden, Yemen August 12, 2019. (Reuters)
General view of Aden, Yemen August 12, 2019. (Reuters)
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‘Southern Revolutionary Movement’ Describes Aden Developments as a Struggle for Power

 General view of Aden, Yemen August 12, 2019. (Reuters)
General view of Aden, Yemen August 12, 2019. (Reuters)

The Supreme Council of the Southern Revolutionary Movement has stressed that the council is closely following the crisis in southern Aden through communicating with all parties to reach calmness.

Head of the council Fouad Rashed called for calm, not to spur the southern struggle and achieve everyone's joint goal which is to face the Iranian supported-Houthi insurgency to reach negotiations.

Rashed warned in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that favoring a southern bloc no matter how much arms and popularity it owned would spark a struggle in different forms.

Preferring a southern bloc would push other southern components to find a military arm, said Rashed, adding that Saudi Arabia is the most entitled to accommodate all of the southerners and it is capable of this because it's a huge country and it leads the coalition to find one southern platform.

The head of the supreme council noted that there is continuous communication with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) for the sake of reaching calmness, following recent events in Aden and several southern provinces.

At the same time, he criticized mandating the STC during the demonstration of millions in 2017. Rashed stated that the supreme council called for several demonstrations and never snatched a mandate.

Since 2007, the supreme council had been defending the southern case through peaceful struggle and not relying on arms or forming a military arm, said Rashed. In 2015, the council participated in confronting Houthis and many leaders fell as martyrs or were wounded, he added.

Yet after the victory and liberating Aden, the supreme council handed out the weapons and resumed its work. Rashed expressed rejection to any southern struggle and described the latest developments in Aden as a struggle for power.



Lebanese Military Calls for Calm

A Lebanese Army patrol. (EPA)
A Lebanese Army patrol. (EPA)
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Lebanese Military Calls for Calm

A Lebanese Army patrol. (EPA)
A Lebanese Army patrol. (EPA)

In its first statement since the recent escalation with Israel and following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon's military called for calm among the Lebanese “at this dangerous and delicate stage."
Government officials fear that the country’s deep political divisions at a time of war could rekindle sectarian strife and violence in the small Mediterranean country.
“The Israeli enemy is working to implement its destructive plans and spread division among the Lebanese,” the military said.
Military vehicles have been deployed in different parts of the capital as thousands of displaced people continue moving from the south to Beirut.
An Israeli airstrike on northeast Lebanon killed 11 people Sunday morning, a day after the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed the death of multiple commanders, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israeli army says it's carrying out attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the number of those displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has more than doubled and now stands at more than 211,000, according to the United Nations.
Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily strikes since the Israel-Hama s war started after the Palestinian militant group stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, sparking fears of regional war.