Translation of the statement read by Aidroos Al-Zubaidi, president of the Southern Transitional Council in Aden Aug,11th 2019. Translated by Ayad Qassem.
-----Start of statement----- Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the noble prophet and messengers, our lord Muhammad and his family and companions brothers and sisters Peace, mercy and blessings of God First of all, we would like to congratulate you on Eid al-Adha, which came to us this year, with the blessing of securing the capital from camps that used to house terrorist elements and factories that manufacture explosives and booby-traps. Not forgetting the tasks of liberating the remainder of the south in the Hadhramaut valley, Beihan and Mukeras, which continue to suffer from terrorism. We also congratulate the Arab and Islamic nations on this occasion, asking god to give it back to us with our nations has achieved all that we look forward to. We take this opportunity to pay great tribute to the Arab coalition forces, led by the Saudi Arabia and the leadership of the King of firmness and determination, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. We also pay tribute to the courage, valor and steadfastness of the heroes of our southern forces on the fronts of fighting the Iranian-Houthi expansion and the fight against terrorism, and pray for mercy to the sols of the martiers who sacrificed their lives for the land of their homeland at various stages, we wish the wounded a speedy recovery. brothers and sisters: The unfortunate events of August were imposed on us and our role was first to react and then our role was self-defense, while the role of the other party was to implement a plan based on the assassination of our leaders and then provoke our masses and then liquidate our presence. On the 1st of August, three simultaneous terrorist operations were planned and prepared with precision in each of Sheikh Othman police, Al-Galaa camp in Aden and Al-Mehfed district in Abyan, killing 60 martyrs, among them the commander of the First Support Brigade the martyr Brigadier Munir Mahmood, Abu Yamamah, and 100 wounded and the destruction of a number of facilities of public institutions, houses and infrastructure On the seventh of August, during the funeral of the martyrs in the Qatee cemetery, the mourners were shot at while they were in a moment of sadness and sorrow without taking into account the sanctity of the place and the occasion, thank God that this incident was filmed to prove the truth of our claim. The purpose of this treacherous act, which left three people dead and a number of wounded, was pure provecation. This is exactly what happened as several peaceful demonstrations were launched to denounce all that was taking place and were suppressed with iron and fire, which increased the number of casualties. On August 8, everything was revealed when heavy weapons were launched from the presidential protection brigades, including tanks and artillery, specifically from Bader camp. This resulted in heavy casualties among the 1st Infantry Brigade camp in Jabal Hadid and the destruction of the water pumping facility for the citizens in Aden. As this image and position became clear, we had only two options: self-defense or surrender and accepting the liquidation of our just cause before the liquidation of our souls. It was our decision, which was guaranteed to us by heavenly and international laws to defend ourselves. To our surprise, international and regional organizations in Aden was the emergence of dormant cells from marginalized and African migrants. It was found that they were recruited by the Presidential Protection Brigades and were officially goven military ID numbers given salaries, arming them and taking part in the battles on their orders, indicating their pre-planning of this failed action. I cannot fail to mention the amount of weapons and ammunition found in the presidential protection brigades that are sufficient to fight the Iranian Houthi enemy on all fronts without coalition support for at least 12 months. brothers and sisters After we have shown you the truth of what happened, the international and regional organizations in Aden can be an eyewitness to the facts of what transpired, we would like to emphasize the following points: 1. Our readiness to work responsibly with the leadership of the Arab Alliance, led by Saudi Arabia, in managing this crisis and its consequences in order to enhance the cohesion of the social fabric. 2. We reiterate our firm position to stand fully with the Arab coalition to fight Iranian expansion in the region led by Saudi Arabia. 3. We renew our confidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which we hope and attach the hopes and aspirations of our people and declare our readiness to work with them and through them, as a loyal ally that is strong and had already proven on the ground what others failed to do for five years except through lies. 4. Our readiness to attend the meeting called by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with full openness with our confidence in the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz (may god protect him) 5. We renew our commitment to the continuation of the ceasefire called for by the leadership of the Arab coalition and our declaration to the same last night. In conclusion, we wish you all a blessed Eid al-Adha, peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings Aidroos Qasim Al - Zubaidi President of the Transitional Council 11 August 2019 ------end of statement---