Escalating Saudi-Emirati rivalry risks fragmenting Yemen south
HADRAMOUT, Dec. 22 (YPA) – Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the leaders of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) have escalated after Abu Dhabi-aligned forces moved into Hadramout and Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen in early December, a move Riyadh saw as a direct challenge to its influence in the region.
Deputy Foreign Minister in Aden government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, Mustafa al-Numan, explained that what was happening in southern Yemen was similar to events in Sudan.
Al-Numan’s statements came during an interview on Al Arabiya TV, where he accused the transitional of disrupting service institutions after taking control of the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, considering that this dealt a severe blow to what he described as“legitimacy”.
He warned that southern Yemen could turn into a “small state” similar to Somaliland, in a clear reference to Riyadh’s efforts to separate Hadramout and Mahra from the STC’s project and limit its influence to the Aden and Dhalea provinces.
“Saudi Arabia is being patient, but its response will be swift if provoked,” he said in a message widely seen as a warning to the STC, adding that Riyadh was still in contact with influential figures from southern Yemen.
Al-Numan referred to the failed attempts of the STC’s chief, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, to open direct channels of communication with the US government over the past days, and described the positions of some STC’s ministers in the Aden government as”ridiculous”, taken under pressure.
The escalation between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, through its allied forces in southern and eastern Yemen, has underscored deep divisions within the coalition, amid an ongoing struggle for influence that serves the American and Israeli project in resource-rich areas since the war began in March 2015.
Saudi airstrikes on positions controlled by UAE-backed factions in the Wadi Hadramout and the desert areas of Khasha and Al-Abr appeared increasingly likely, amid reports of the arrival of military reinforcements from Najran over the past two days.
These developments followed a series of operations carried out by manned aircraft, the latest of which was last Friday, targeting the positions of the STC in Khashm Al-Ain in the Al-Abr area.
AA