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Saudi Arabia Demands Separatist Withdrawal from Oil-Rich Yemeni Provinces as Alliance Fractures

Riyadh – Saudi Arabia has publicly called for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Yemen’s main southern separatist group, to withdraw its forces from the Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates, oil-rich provinces seized by the group earlier this month. The move threatens to deepen divisions within the anti-Houthi coalition.

In a statement released Thursday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry described the STC’s actions as an “unjustified escalation,” and urged all Yemeni factions to exercise restraint and avoid destabilizing actions. The ministry confirmed ongoing mediation efforts aimed at facilitating the STC’s withdrawal to “their previous positions” and the handover of camps to the National Shield Forces.

The STC, backed previously by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), rapidly took control of key infrastructure in the two provinces, including oil facilities, government buildings, and border crossings. They also seized the presidential palace in Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

While Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both backers of the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels, sent a joint delegation to Aden on December 12th to negotiate a resolution, a breakthrough has yet to be achieved.

Hadramout and al-Mahra are strategically important to Saudi Arabia and Oman due to shared borders, trade routes, and energy resources. The STC views these provinces as vital for the establishment of an independent southern state, aiming to revive the former South Yemen that existed from 1967 to 1990.

Instead of withdrawing, the STC has expanded its operations into the Abyan province and declared its goal of seizing Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, from the Houthis. This escalation, analysts warn, could unravel Yemen’s fragile truce and benefit the Houthi rebels who have controlled northern Yemen since 2014. The STC’s leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, despite holding a seat on the Presidential Leadership Council, has been increasingly acting independently of the government, further straining the already fragile coalition.

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