CAIRO, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Saturday welcomed Saudi Arabia's announcement of holding a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to seek "just solutions" for the southern Yemeni issue.
In a statement issued by the Arab League, Aboul-Gheit praised the Saudi's response to the request by the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council to hold a comprehensive conference in the Saudi capital with the participation of the southern Yemeni factions.
"The solution in southern Yemen has well-known historical dimensions and encompasses legitimate aspects that must be discussed in light of a comprehensive Yemeni process," said Aboul-Gheit.
He stressed that the policy of imposing fait accompli doesn't serve the southern issue but rather causes it serious harm by exposing the country to further fragmentation and disintegration.
The statement reiterated the Arab League's firm stance backing the unity and integrity of Yemen and its national territory.
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that it will host a conference to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."
The situation in Yemen continued to escalate as the Yemeni government on Friday launched a military operation to retake areas taken by the Southern Transitional Council in the eastern province of Hadramout. The STC subsequently announced the launch of a two-year transitional period, during which the council will administer the southern parts of the country, to be followed by a referendum on the independence of the south.
A Yemeni government military source and local residents told Xinhua that Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, on Saturday retook Seiyun, the second-largest city in Hadramout. ■
