RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry called on Saturday for Yemen's southern factions to attend a "dialogue" in Riyadh, after deadly airstrikes and a surprise independence bid. In a statement posted to social media, the Saudi ministry urged "a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to bring together all southern factions to discuss just solutions to the southern cause". Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have for years supported various factions within Yemen's government-run territories, intervening in the neighbouring country's long-running civil war. One of those factions, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), is now pushing to declare independence and form a breakaway state, which would split the Arabian Peninsula's poorest state in two. But after a brutal, decade-long civil war, the Houthis remain in place while the Saudi and Emirati-backed factions attack each other in the south.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 03, 2026 02:53 UTC