STC escalation: A Saudi maneuver with a green light from international powers?
SANAA, July 07 (YPA) – Yemen’s southern and eastern provinces are witnessing escalating political and popular ferment, as supporters of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) prepare to launch massive public rallies on Tuesday, to express their categorical rejection of what they describe as “Saudi guardianship.”
These movements by STC followers come as an extension of a fierce wave of political and media escalation carried out by STC leaders against Saudi policies in the region.
The fuse of this renewed tension traces back to the beginning of this year, specifically since last January, when Riyadh unilaterally tightened its control over the southern and eastern regions of Yemen following the offensive launched by Abu Dhabi-backed factions in eastern Yemen.
This was followed by the expulsion of the UAE from the southern and eastern regions of Yemen, alongside declared Saudi orientations aimed at undermining the STC’s influence and dissolving it politically and militarily.
A wide segment of analysts believes that the STC’s ongoing protest activities do not move in isolation from an implicit “green light” from Riyadh itself. This view is based on the premise that Saudi Arabia may wish to retain the “partition of Yemen” card as a strategic leverage tool and political pressure mechanism to arrange its own interests.
From this perspective, Riyadh displays a degree of tolerance and turns a blind eye to the movements of the separatist groups, aiming to present them as a “de facto authority” and an effective force on the ground in southern Yemen, to be utilized later in shaping any comprehensive political settlement that guarantees Saudi influence.
On the other hand, deeper analyses link the raging scene to regional and international understandings. Some experts believe that Riyadh has made unannounced promises and commitments to the United States and “Israel” not to suppress or curb the separatist group in Yemen, with the aim of providing a strategic foothold for Washington and “Tel Aviv” along the most vital maritime corridors governing global trade, particularly in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Arabian Sea.
YPA