ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-backed Yemeni government on Monday declared a cease-fire with the separatist forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the country's southern regions.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry ordered all the government's military units positioned in the southeastern province of Shabwa and in the southern provinces of Abyan and Aden to immediately stop fighting.

"The declaration of the cease-fire came in response to a call of the Joint Forces Command of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition," a ministry statement said.

Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition involved in a war in Yemen announced the formation of a Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates (UAE) joint committee, according to a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

The coalition said the joint committee would start work from Monday to stabilize the cease-fire in Shabwa and Abyan.

Turki Al Maliki, spokesman of the coalition, highlighted the necessity for a commitment by all parties in Shabwa to upholding the cease-fire and maintaining calm.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia and the UAE issued a joint statement calling for engagement in the dialogue that Saudi Arabia has called for to address the problems in some southern Yemeni provinces.

On Sunday, the STC forces announced the launch of a large-scale military operation to seize the strategic province of Shabwa after four days of sporadic battles with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces over the control of a number of key military bases in the province.

The STC is a part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition to fight Iran-backed Houthi militias in northern Yemen in a war that has rekindled old strains between the north and south of Yemen.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces including the capital Sanaa.