![A fighter of the UAE-trained Security Belt Force, dominated by members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) which seeks independence for south Yemen, stops cars at a security checkpoint where the flags of the southern Separatists (top) and the UAE are flying, in al-Maala district in the centre of the second city of Yemen on 4 September 2019 [SALEH AL-OBEIDI/AFP - Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/GettyImages-1165954661.jpg?w=1200&quality=85&strip=all&ssl=1)
A regiment in the Yemen Army has pledging allegiance to the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Socotra, renouncing the UN-backed government of Abd rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
An adviser to the Yemeni Minister of Information, Mukhtar Al-Rahbi, said that a second army regiment in Socotra has rebelled against the state, pledging allegiance to the so-called transitional council.
Al-Rahbi confirmed, in two posts on Twitter yesterday, that the new development comes as the coast guard regiment continues its rebellion against Hadi’s government. .
Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.
READ: UAE-backed Yemen group, Hadi government complete prisoner swap
