Saudi Arabia demands Yemeni separatists leave seized governorates

Saudi Arabia has publicly called on Yemen’s main southern separatist group to withdraw from two eastern provinces it seized this month, in a move that threatens to deepen divisions within the governing coalition opposed to the Houthi rebels.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the demand on Thursday, describing military operations by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) as an “unjustified escalation” after the group took control of the oil-rich Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates earlier in December.

“The kingdom stresses the importance of cooperation among all Yemeni factions and components to exercise restraint and avoid any measures that could destabilise security and stability, which may result in undesirable consequences,” the Foreign Ministry warned.

Saudi Arabia added that mediation efforts were under way, aimed at having the STC’s forces return to their previous positions outside the two governorates and hand over camps in those areas to the National Shield Forces.

Riyadh said it remained hopeful the separatists would pull back in an urgent and orderly manner to restore stability.

The STC, which has previously received military and financial backing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), moved swiftly into the two provinces in early December, seizing key oil facilities, government buildings and border crossings with minimal resistance.

The group also took over the presidential palace in Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both backed the government against Iran-aligned Houthis during Yemen’s civil war since 2015. The STC is part of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council that represents the country.

While the two Gulf powers sent a joint delegation to Aden on December 12 to negotiate a resolution, those efforts have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.

‘Critical and existential juncture’

Saudi Arabia shares a 684km (425-mile) border with Hadramout and views the province as vital to its national security, while Oman has similar concerns about al-Mahra on its frontier.

Both governorates host important trade routes and energy resources that the STC considers essential for establishing an independent southern state.

The separatist group was formed in 2017 to restore South Yemen, which existed as an independent country between 1967 and 1990.

Its leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, holds a seat on Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council but has increasingly acted independently of the government he nominally serves.

Instead of withdrawing, the STC has expanded operations into neighbouring Abyan province and declared that its ultimate goal is to seize the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, from the Houthis.

Al-Zubaidi recently told supporters that the south stands at a “critical and existential juncture” requiring work to build “the institutions of the future South Arabian state”.

Analysts warn the escalation could unravel Yemen’s fragile truce and ultimately benefit the Houthis, who have controlled northern Yemen, including Sanaa, since 2014.