JEDDAH: The United Nations envoy to Yemen praised the “tireless role” played by Saudi Arabia in restoring stability to the country’s south. Griffiths made the comments on Tuesday after a “positive and engaging meeting” with the Kingdom’s Deputy Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman. Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the weekend oversaw the withdrawal of southern separatists from positions they had seized from the Yemeni government in the temporary capital Aden. The Arab coalition, which includes the two Gulf countries, ordered that the fighters stand down and they revert to helping the government fight the Iran-backed Houthi militants, which controls the north. Griffiths praised the Kingdom’s “tireless role under Khalid bin Salman’s leadership to restore order and stability in south Yemen.”  Positive and engaging meeting yesterday with @kbsalsaud. Tireless role under Khalid bin Salman leadership to restore order and stability in south #Yemen. We agreed on the need for continuous dialogue. — OSE_Yemen (@OSE_Yemen) August 20, 2019 “We agreed on the need for continuous dialogue,” he added in a tweet. Yemen’s latest crisis erupted when southern separatist forces seized the presidential palace and army camps in Aden. Dozens of people, including civilians, were killed in violent clashes. Saudi Arabia and the UAE urged Yemenis to observe a cease-fire in Aden and resolve their differences through dialogue. The separatists, who want an independent south Yemen, had agreed to support the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to defeat the Houthis from the north who sparked the conflict in 2014 when they seized Sanaa. But tensions between the separatists and Hadi’s forces have spilled over on a number of occasions in Aden.