DUBAI – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has welcomed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to support security and stability in Yemen and reaffirmed its commitment to backing peace and development in the country, the UAE Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Earlier this month, Yemen's main southern separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which receives support from Abu Dhabi, pushed the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government out of its headquarters in Aden while claiming broad control over southern Yemen.

“The UAE reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to supporting all efforts aimed at strengthening stability and development in Yemen,” the ministry said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that it remains hopeful the STC will end the escalation and withdraw its forces from the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra.

The STC was originally part of the Sunni Muslim Saudi-led alliance that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthis. However, the group later turned against the government and has sought self-rule in the south.

Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, with the Houthis controlling the northern part of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, after forcing the Saudi-backed government to flee south.

-Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Muralikumar Anantharaman/Reuters