Saudi forces deploy reinforcements to Shabwa amid tensions with STC loyalists

SHABWA, March 07 (YPA) -Saudi Arabia has deployed heavy military reinforcements over the past 24 hours to several camps in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate amid growing tension with supporters of the now-dissolved Southern Transitional Council (STC).

Local sources said Saudi-backed “Dera Al-Watan” and “Emergency Forces” arrived Saturday at the Al-Alam and Murrah camps with armored vehicles and modern equipment.

The deployment follows an arrest warrant for Shabwa STC head Sheikh Lahmar bin Ali Laswad, accused of inciting the storming of the governorate building in Ataq during recent protests.

Dozens of fighters from the Al-Awlaq tribe gathered at Safid crossroads on Sunday in response to the Saudi threats, with observers warning of possible escalation.

Local actors accused Abdulrahman Al-Mahrami Al-Yafi, a pro-Saudi leader, of orchestrating the Interior Ministry’s orders—issued under the Shayea Al-Zindani government—to detain Laswad. Observers warn that the situation in Shabwa could escalate rapidly.

Laswad explained in a Facebook post on Saturday that the arrest orders followed his rejection of repeated Saudi attempts over the past two months to persuade him to travel to Riyadh.

He added that he had received guarantees and lucrative offers in exchange for publicly supporting the dissolution of the STC.

Laswad said that Saudi envoy in Aden, Falah Al-Shahrani, had offered through intermediaries that he either remain silent at home in exchange for incentives or leave Yemen entirely.

He reportedly rejected all such offers, telling the intermediaries: “Only the one who placed the head may cut it off.”

@E.Y.M