News - Yemen: State of emergency was declared in the governorates of southern Yemen by the head of the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC), Major General Aidarous al-Zubaidi.

The state of emergency was imposed against the backdrop of widespread and angry popular protests against the pro-aggression government, following the deterioration of living conditions and basic services.

Al-Zubaidi also raised the combat readiness of the southern armed forces to confront the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees.

"We call on our armed forces to raise their combat readiness, raise the state of alert to the maximum degree, and prepare to carry out combat missions in defense of land and honor, and mobilize to confront the Houthis, and any other threats and risks," he said.

The head of the Emirati-backed STC had vowed last Saturday, the pro-aggression government to "pay the price" after the Abyan events, and to respond to its control of Lauder district in Abyan governorate, south of the country, and one of the camps affiliated to the Council.

Al-Zubaidi held a meeting in Aden, which included the leaders of the military and security forces affiliated with the STC, devoted to discussing the events and military confrontations in Lauder district.

"The southern armed forces will not stand idly by this tampering with the security and stability of Lauder, Abyan governorate, and the south in general," he said. "The officials will pay the price for these violations, which represent a flagrant violation of the Riyadh Agreement (signed between the pro-aggression government and the STC on November 5, 2019) with the aim of thwarting the agreement in general."

On the other hand, the pro-aggression government called, earlier, for the STC to stop aggravating the situation and military mobilization.

The previous recent events came in light of a comprehensive strike by exchange companies in Aden in protest against the deteriorating economic situation. 

Exchange shops and companies in Aden, which is under the control of the Saudi and Emirati forces in southern Yemen, closed their doors completely to their customers in response to the Money Exchange Association's call to implement a comprehensive strike in protest against the deterioration of the local currency rate.

The Exchangers Association in Aden called on all exchange facilities, companies and local money transfer networks, to implement a comprehensive strike as of Wednesday, the 15th of this month, until further notice. It said that the step came after exhausting all means and directing repeated calls to the Saudi coalition and pro-aggression government in order to develop appropriate solutions to stop the economic deterioration, bearing all the aforementioned responsibility for the deterioration taking place.

Traders in Aden told Reuters that the rate for the new notes in Aden hit 1,120 riyals, in the worst collapse in the currency of Yemen in its history and since the start of the aggression against Yemen.

The ties between the pro-aggression government and the STC is witnessing unprecedented tension. This comes after the announcement on June 21 that representatives of the two sides agreed in the ongoing consultations in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. They agreed for the return of the government to Aden and to proceed with the implementation of the faltering Riyadh Agreement in its security and military aspect.