At least 20 fighters linked to Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) were killed on Friday after Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck positions held by the UAE-backed group, as tensions escalated following the STC’s recent territorial expansion in the country’s east.
The fatalities mark the first time coalition air power has been used against the separatist movement since it took control of large areas of Hadramawt and Mahra provinces last month—an advance that has sharply strained relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, long-time partners backing opposing forces inside Yemen.
Mohammed Abdulmalik, who heads the STC in Wadi Hadhramaut and the Hadhramaut Desert, said seven air strikes hit the Al-Khasah military camp, leaving 20 people dead and several injured. He added that additional locations in the same area were also targeted.
The bombardment came shortly after Saudi-aligned forces announced a campaign to take over military installations in Hadramawt, describing the effort as non-violent in intent.
“This operation is not a declaration of war, nor an attempt to escalate tensions,” Hadhramaut governor Salem Al-Khanbashi, who also leads the province’s Saudi-backed forces, was quoted as saying by Saba Net news agency.
“This operation does not target any political or social group,” he said, adding that it “aims to peacefully and systematically hand over military sites”.
Saudi officials confirmed the strikes were carried out by the coalition established in 2015 to combat Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
A source close to the Saudi military warned: “It will not stop until the Southern Transitional Council withdraws from the two governorates.”
Competing alliances
The STC’s takeover of much of Hadramawt, along Saudi Arabia’s border, and neighbouring Mahra has highlighted the rivalry between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which support different factions within Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Although Saudi Arabia and the UAE jointly led the campaign against the Houthis, who ousted the government from Sanaa in 2014 and still control the country’s most densely populated regions, their priorities have diverged after nearly a decade of war.
Amr Al Bidh, foreign affairs representative for the STC, accused Saudi Arabia of bad faith, rejecting claims that the operation was meant to remain non-violent.
“Saudi Arabia knowingly misled the international community by announcing a ‘peaceful operation’ that they never had any intention to keep peaceful,” he wrote on social media.
“This was evidenced by the fact that they launched 7 air strikes minutes later.”
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly called on the STC to pull back from the areas it captured last month. Earlier this week, after coalition forces struck what they described as an Emirati weapons shipment, the UAE’s defence ministry announced plans to withdraw its remaining troops from Yemen.
Airport disruption
Yemen’s government itself is a loose alliance of rival groups—including the STC—brought together mainly by opposition to the Houthis. The STC’s recent gains have revived speculation that southern Yemen, which existed as an independent state from 1967 to 1990, could once again seek separation, potentially undermining already fragile peace talks.
On Friday, Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jabir said the STC had prevented a Saudi delegation from landing at Aden airport, accusing the group of “intransigence”.
A day earlier, the STC-run transport ministry criticised a Saudi demand requiring all flights between Yemen and the UAE to stop in Saudi Arabia for security inspections. Flight-tracking data showed no arrivals or departures at Aden airport for more than 24 hours, though authorities did not formally declare the airport closed.
