An assassination attempt targeting the convoy of Yemeni Minister of Civil Service and Insurance Abdel Nasser al-Waly in the southern city of Aden has ramped up pressure on the new power-sharing government to speed up the implementation of the military and security stipulations of the Riyadh Agreement.
“It is clear that there is a plot to confuse the situation in Aden,” a Yemeni government official, speaking under the conditions of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Describing the current state of affairs as “frustrating,” the official stressed the need for swiftly completing the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.
“Unfortunately, the situation in Aden has become worse than it was even before the formation of the government,” he said.
“There is no doubt that completing the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement is the best way out for all. We hope that this will be done quickly,” the official affirmed.
Waly survived an attempt on his life in Aden on Thursday, escaping unharmed from an explosion that targeted his convoy. The assassination attempt coincided with another massive terror attack targeting a security checkpoint in Abyan governorate.
The attack killed at least ten soldiers, according to local reporters.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia called Yemen's official government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) for an urgent meeting in Riyadh over the completion of the Riyadh Agreement’s implementation to unite the ranks of Yemenis and prevent bloodshed.
Both the Yemeni government and the STC have welcomed Saudi Arabia’s call and stressed the need for finishing the implementation of security and military arrangements laid out by the Riyadh deal.
Ali al-Kuthairi, an STC spokesman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that assassinations and terrorist attacks in Yemen, first and foremost, serve the agenda of Houthi militias in Yemen.
“Al-Waly’s assassination attempt and the terror attack against the Security Belt Forces in Abyan regrettably forebodes a violent resurgence of terror groups in Yemen,” said Kuthairi, adding that a rise in terrorism will advance Houthi goals in the war-torn country.
As for the Riyadh Agreement, Kuthairi reiterated the STC’s welcoming of Saudi Arabia’s call for resuming negotiations and completing the deal’s implementation.
