Saudi Arabia strikes STC positions in Hadramout

HADRAMOUT, Dec. 26 (YPA) – Saudi warplanes carried out a series of heavy airstrikes in Hadramout governorate on Friday morning, targeting recently established positions of UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, with casualties reported among the fighters.

According to local sources, the Saudi strikes came only hours after STC factions announced they had taken control of the Wadi Nahb camp belonging to the Hadramout Tribal  Alliance,  a move described as a direct challenge to Saudi influence in the governorate.

The sources added that STC forces had launched simultaneous attacks on positions and camps belonging to the Hadramout Tribal Alliance in the Al-Shihr and Ghayl bin Yamin areas, shortly after a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry called on the STC to carry out a “smooth” withdrawal from Hadramout.

For its part, the command of the Second Military Region, affiliated with the STC in Mukalla, announced that the Hadrami Elite Forces had secured control over the Wadi Nahb camp and described the leader of the Hadramout Alliance, Sheikh Amr bin Habrish, as a “rebel.”

In a notable field development, the STC earlier reported that its forces were ambushed in the Ays Khard area, accusing tribal groups loyal to Sheikh Amr bin Habrish and Sheikh Salem Al-Gharabi of carrying out the attack.

Meanwhile, tribal sources confirmed that the ambush was a direct response to an attack launched by STC forces on positions belonging to the Hadramout Tribal Alliance, warning of further escalation and a potential military flare-up in the country’s most important oil-rich governorate.

@E.Y.M