Saudi Arabia prepares air operations against STC positions, camps

ADEN, Aug. 11 (YPA) – Saudi military commanders are planning to launch drone strikes against positions and camps belonging to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in several provinces, southern sources familiar with the situation said.

The sources said Saudi forces stationed in Aden, Shabwa and Marib are preparing offensive operations against STC positions and camps, particularly the Shabwa Defense forces, as well as positions in Dhalea, Yafa, Karsh and Al Anad Air Base in Lahj.

The reported aim is to attribute the attacks to Sanaa forces and draw these factions into Saudi-led military operations against Sanaa.

The sources added that the Saudi plan would not be limited to military positions, but would also include attacks on some civilian sites to lend credibility to a narrative that could then be promoted politically and in the media to mobilize new fronts against Sanaa forces.

The developments come after STC-aligned factions refused to participate in military operations or confrontations against Sanaa, citing Saudi hostility toward the factions, which were subjected to airstrikes in Wadi Hadramout late last year that killed and wounded hundreds, most of them from Dhalea and Radfan.

Saudi Arabia, in coordination with figures from the Islah Party, has failed in recent days to draw STC-aligned factions into the conflict against Sanaa on several fronts, particularly Dhalea.

The reported objective was to drag them into a prolonged war of attrition that would weaken their influence on the ground and pressure their leadership to accept political and security arrangements sought by Riyadh in the southern provinces.

This comes after a series of drone strikes carried out by Saudi-backed factions against STC camps and positions in Lahj, Dhalea and Shabwa in recent days, in response to the STC leadership’s refusal to engage in direct confrontation with Sanaa forces.

The developments also have coincided with widespread defections among Saudi-funded forces involving hundreds of southern recruits.