Hundreds of recruits withdraw from Saudi-run camps

MARIB, Aug. 22 (YPA) – Hundreds of recruits have left Saudi-backed camps and positions on several fronts, including Marib, the western coast and Medi, returning to their home areas in a new wave of withdrawals, according to informed southern sources.

The sources said many recruits from Aden, Lahj, Dhalea and other Saudi-controlled provinces had abandoned their positions and returned home, while others were detained and taken to faction-run prisons, amid calls from political and military figures affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

They said the withdrawals came in response to calls by the council, which were echoed by protests held by hundreds of mothers and women in Aden and Lahj last week, and by calls issued by Sanaa-based armed forces earlier this month.

The sources added that residents of Yemen’s southern and eastern provinces have no interest in Saudi Arabia’s war against Sanaa, saying the conflict does not serve the southern cause and that the region has already suffered heavy casualties in previous years.

They clarified the STC’s leaders in Aden are pressing for recruits to return and for Saudi-backed camps and fronts to be cleared of southern personnel, whom they accused of being exploited to serve foreign agendas.

The sources said the calls for recruits to return are part of broader popular protests and partial civil disobedience in Aden and other Saudi-controlled areas, demanding an end to Saudi guardianship, shortages and the war on services.

They added that the withdrawals extend beyond southern and eastern provinces, with large numbers of recruits from northern provinces reportedly leaving Saudi-backed camps because of security concerns and returning home.

The developments follow the reported departure of hundreds of recruits from Saudi-backed Dera al-Watan forces’ camps and positions in Marib, Mocha and Hadramout earlier this month, after surprise missile and drone strikes by Sanaa-based armed forces targeted Saudi-backed camps and military build-ups, causing casualties and material losses.

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