Pro-Saudi Hadramout governor unveils Emirati explosives, secret prisons at Al-Rayan Airport
HADRAMOUT, Jan. 19 (YPA) – Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout, who is loyal to Saudi Arabia, on Monday unveiled a huge cache of Emirati explosives and detonators, as well as a network of secret prisons at Al-Rayan Airport in the city of Al-Mukalla.
This came during his first press conference following the rapid military developments in the governorate and the southern regions of Yemen.
Al-Khanbashi, who was recently appointed a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, confirmed during the conference that the items seized at Al-Rayan Airport included large quantities of explosives prepared for carrying out assassination and liquidation operations targeting figures opposing the UAE.
He stated that underground facilities and secret detention centers were discovered within the airport compound, which Emirati forces had turned into a closed military base after taking control of it in early 2016 under the pretext of “counterterrorism.”
“Hadramout Governorate has been liberated from the domination of Aidarous Al-Zubaidi and Emirati hegemony,” he said. “Hadramout had long suffered from armed groups affiliated with the recently dissolved Southern Transitional Council (STC), which received direct Emirati funding and support.”
He added that this press conference came as a pre-emptive step in response to Emirati threats issued on Sunday by Khalid al-Shamiri, the head of the UAE’s Center for Political Studies, who threatened to publish files and scandals related to ‘corruption, money laundering, and support for terrorist organizations,’ allegedly funded by the ‘Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It is worth noting that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have turned southern and eastern Yemen into an open arena of conflict, which recently escalated after Saudi aircraft carried out airstrikes targeting gatherings of Emirati-backed factions and a vessel transporting Emirati military equipment at the port of Al-Mukalla.
These strikes led to the collapse of UAE-backed factions and their expulsion from Hadramout and Mahra, following Saudi Arabia’s decision to end its ally’s role in the coalition, dissolve the STC, and expel Aidrous Al-Zubaidi from the Presidential Leadership Council.
Al-Zubaidi has not been seen in public since airstrikes targeted his hometown in Dhalea, amid Saudi claims that he fled to the United Arab Emirates.
@E.Y.M