Tensions rise in Saudi-backed camps over unpaid salaries
ADEN, Aug. 16 (YPA) – Tensions have escalated inside Saudi-backed military camps amid warnings and explicit threats by recruits to resort to armed escalation against the Riyadh-aligned government, in protest against the continued suspension of their financial entitlements for the third consecutive month.
Sources familiar with the matter said commanders and members of Saudi-backed factions had demanded that the Saudi-backed Aden government of Shaya Al-Zindani immediately pay their outstanding entitlements, which have been suspended since May.
They noted the suspension had worsened their already severe living conditions, leaving them unable to meet their families’ basic needs amid rising prices of goods and services.
The factions threatened to pursue broad escalation options in Taiz, Shabwa, Marib, Abyan, Hadramout, and Mahra to pressure authorities into meeting their demands, expressing strong resentment over what they described as financial discrimination.
The sources clarified the armed factions were demanding equal financial rights with forces recently established by Saudi Arabia, particularly the Saudi-funded Al-Dera al Watan forces and the Emergency forces.
The widespread discontent comes amid a wave of defections involving hundreds of recruits from Yemen’s southern and eastern provinces who have left Saudi-backed factions over the past two weeks.
The recruits reportedly rejected participation in fighting against Sanaa forces, arguing that the war no longer concerns them after 12 years of a futile war in Yemen.
AA