STC declares war on Saudi agendas, rejects alternative entities

MUKALLA, May 5 (YPA) – The UAE-backed “dissolved” Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared war on Saudi agendas in Aden and the southern and eastern governorates on Tuesday, rejecting the dismantling of its armed factions, most notably the “Hadrami Elite Forces.”

A statement issued at a mass rally in Mukalla affirmed its absolute rejection of Riyadh’s exclusion and marginalization of STC and its efforts to replace it with entities that do not represent the southern cause.

It emphasized “peaceful resistance to Saudi tutelage” as an irreversible strategic option and rejected the fragmentation of the governorates to serve Saudi interests.

The statement condemned the economic collapse, the cutting of salaries, and the deterioration of electricity and water in Hadramout and the south, warning of the systematic repression against the Council’s supporters.

This coincided with security tensions this morning, after Saudi-backed “Homeland Shield and Emergency” forces closed the coastal road in Al-Dhaba to prevent STC elements from reaching Mukalla, before their supporters stormed the checkpoint by force to participate in the event, defying the military deployment intended to prevent escalation against the authorities loyal to Riyadh.