Yemen Monitor / Marib:
The British newspaper The Guardian has revealed a direct Saudi warning to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) that it will face direct airstrikes if it does not withdraw from areas it recently seized in the oil-rich governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra.
The Guardian, in a report by its diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour, stated that Saudi Arabia has begun mobilizing around 20,000 soldiers from its supported forces (National Shield Forces) on the Yemeni border. This move aims to pressure the separatists to retreat and exit Al-Mahra and Hadramawt, which they captured over the past month.
The report indicated that Riyadh has clearly informed the STC that “direct airstrikes” are a possible and likely option to deter its military movements threatening the stability of eastern Yemen. This threat comes after the STC, in talks held in Aden last Friday, refused to comply with Saudi demands to withdraw from Wadi Hadramawt, which its factions entered two weeks ago.
The newspaper suggests that current Saudi movements in the “Al-Abr” and “Al-Wadia’ah” areas reflect a state of frustration for the Kingdom, which views the STC’s expansion towards its borders and its reach into Al-Mahra (adjacent to Oman) as an “insult.” Riyadh fears that the disintegration of the “Legitimacy” camp could give the Houthi group a golden opportunity to strengthen its positions.
For its part, the STC is seeking to impose the reality of the “two states” pre-1990, presenting itself as a bulwark against extremist groups and a protector of navigation routes. However, its intransigence in expanding eastward has put its ally (the UAE) in a diplomatic confrontation with Saudi Arabia, amid international fears of a new round of civil war erupting within the anti-Houthi camp.
