Saudi-backed factions take over Bab al-Mandab coast
ADEN, Nov. 10 (YPA) – Saudi-backed factions seized control of a key area overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait from UAE-backed factions in Lahj province, western Yemen, following military buildups in recent hours.
The Saudi-funded factions of Dera al-Watan or Homeland Shield, led by the Salafist Bashir al-Madhrabi al-Subaihi, consolidated their control on Monday over the coastal districts of al-Mudrabah and Ras al-Ara.
This came after the dissolution of their security partnership with the UAE-backed al-Amaliqa or Giants Brigades,” led by Hamdi Shukri al-Subaihi, and an agreement to withdraw the latter’s forces to the Tur al-Bahah area, extending to the iron factory in Lahj.
Early Monday, the “Defense Minister” of the coalition-backed Aden government, Mohsen al-Daeri, along with several military commanders, arrived in the Ras al-Ara area, dispatched by the Saudi forces command in Aden. Their mission was to oversee the demarcation of the front lines between the UAE-backed “Giants Brigades” and the Saudi-backed “Homeland Shield” factions, and to finalize the agreement to end the security partnership according to the new arrangements.
Armed tensions are escalated between the Giants forces and the Homeland Shield forces on Sunday over a dispute regarding the redistribution of control areas between Saudi-backed and Emirati-backed factions in the coastal and mountainous regions of Al-Mudrabah. The Dera al-Watan forces rejected a proposal to hand over the coast to the Emirati-backed factions, prompting the latter to bring in military reinforcements overnight from the Hays area south of Hodeida to Ras al-Ara.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-backed factions blocked the coastal road, preventing supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Emirati-backed factions heading to Ras al-Ara. The Emirati-backed factions considered Ras al-Ara their own operational area within the so-called “Joint Forces” led by Tariq Selah, the nephew of the former president Ali Abdullah Selah, before the formation of the Dera al-Watan forces.
The Saudi-backed Dera al-Watan forces also attempted to impede the arrival of military reinforcements sent by the UAE-funded Southern Transitional Council (STC) from the Security Belt forces, led by Wadah Omar Saeed, along the coastal road before they reached the Al-Hajaf area, which is controlled by the Emirati-backed factions.
Military tensions were erupted between the factions after Saudi-backed groups seized a weapons shipment destined for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
The shipment, allegedly sent by Emirati forces via the Yemeni coast with the complicity of Abu Zara’a al-Mahrami, commander of the UAE-backed Giants Brigades, triggered the conflict. Saudi Arabia insisted on the removal of UAE-backed factions from the area surrounding the port of al-Hajaf.
This is part of a broader struggle for influence in the region, particularly regarding control of strategic coastal areas near Bab al-Mandab and resource-rich regions like Hadramawt and al-Mahra. This includes Ras al-Ara, which gains millions of dollars from the smuggling of alcohol, hashish, and other drugs that flood Aden and other southern provinces, facilitated by the complicity of pro-coalition leaders.
AA