Saudi Arabia buys allegiances of STC militia leaders

HADRAMOUT, Dec. 03 (YPA) – A leader in the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s militia revealed a new Saudi plan to split the militia, through the processes of attracting and buying loyalties to its leaders.

“There are efforts to attract members of the STC from the people of Abyan and Shabwa governorates and appoint them to senior positions in the government and bodies affiliated with the Presidential Council,” Abdullah Mubarak al-Ghaithi, a leader of the STC in Hadramout, said on his Twitter account.

“This comes as a prelude to splitting the STC into a moderate council representing the provinces of the so-called Hadramout and Abyan provinces, and an extremist council representing the southern triangle,” he said.

This comes after Saudi Arabia targeted the STC militia and weakened it militarily by handing over Al-Ma’ashiq Presidential Palace to a force belonging to Tariq Affash and battalions of the “Shield of the Homeland” brigade to assume protection, in addition to other vital facilities in Aden as part of Riyadh’s moves to replace the STC. Also, non-payment of the STC forces to push their members to go to Tariq’s camps to join them.

E.M