Yemeni southern separatists are demanding a role in the peace talks in Oman

CAIRO — According to a statement on Friday, Yemen’s southern separatists seek to play a role in the peace talks between Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition fighting for the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and the country’s Houthi rebels.

Earlier this year, reports emerged between Yemen’s warring parties in the Gulf Arab nation of Oman, a traditional mediator in the Middle East. The head of Yemen’s presidential council, Rashid al-Alami, confirmed the talks in a statement to the London-based newspaper “Asharq Al-Awsat” on Thursday.

The separatists, known as Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, issued a statement on Friday saying they must participate in the talks.

The council is an umbrella group of heavily armed and well-funded militias backed by the United Arab Emirates. Although the United Arab Emirates is officially a member of the Saudi-led coalition, its support for separatists has threatened the alliance. The separatists control much of southern Yemen and have repeatedly called for Yemen to be divided into two countries, as was the case between 1967 and 1990.

Yemen’s war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept from their northern stronghold and captured the capital, Sanaa, as well as much of the country’s north. In response, the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government to power.

Al-Alami, an ally of Saudi Arabia who is currently on a diplomatic tour in Europe, became the head of Yemen’s presidential council last April. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that while he supports Omani-mediated dialogue, any final peace deal must be between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels.

More than 150,000 people have died in the war in Yemen, according to the site of the armed conflict & Event Data Project, involving over 15,000 civilians, has become a proxy war in the region. It also caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, pushing the Middle East’s poorest nation into near-famine.

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