UAE-Backed Southern Transitional Council Refuses to Withdraw from Yemen’s Hadhramaut and Al Mahra
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced it will not retreat from Yemen‘s Hadhramaut and Al Mahra provinces. The council recently deployed extensive military equipment to Hadhramaut to reinforce its presence and influence in the region.
Tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over Yemen have intensified in recent weeks. The Saudi-led coalition targeted an Emirati arms shipment destined for the STC in an airstrike. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the UAE to withdraw its forces due to Abu Dhabi’s support for southern Yemeni separatists. The UAE’s Ministry of Defense stated that the mission of these forces had concluded as per Abu Dhabi’s decision.
Saudi state television reported on social media platform X that the Arab coalition had closed the UAE’s Yemen file one day before the end of the year. Southern Yemen has been a battleground for Saudi and Emirati political and military influence in recent years, with the UAE bolstering its presence in Hadhramaut and Al Mahra through support for the STC. This rivalry has fueled tensions and complicated efforts to achieve stability and a political resolution to Yemen’s crisis.
