Delegation led by Yemen's STC to travel to Saudi Arabia

CAIRO - A delegation led by Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of Yemen's main separatist group STC, will soon travel to Saudi Arabia, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a potential sign of progress towards ending a conflict between separatists and Yemen's internationally recognised government.

The conflict, which began early last month, has triggered a major feud between the Gulf powers, Saudi Arabia and UAE, and fractured a coalition fighting Houthi forces.

The Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 and Gulf countries intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognised government, splitting Yemen into rival zones of control.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council has for years been part of that government, which controls southern and eastern Yemen and is backed by Gulf states, but last month STC forces suddenly seized swathes of territory.

Al-Zubaidi's visit would come days after the internationally recognised government said late on Friday it had asked Saudi Arabia to host a forum to resolve the southern issue. Riyadh agreed and extended invitations to southern factions.

The STC welcomed the call for dialogue, potentially signalling that all sides now see negotiation as the eventual means of ending the brief conflict.

Government forces backed by Saudi airstrikes on Friday and Saturday took back control of the strategically important Hadramout and Mahra provinces in the east of Yemen.

The crisis triggered the biggest split in decades between formerly close allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as years of divergence on critical issues came to a head, threatening to upend the regional order.