Yemeni region bordering Saudi Arabia intensifies fighting

SAUDI ARABIA: Clashes have intensified once again in Yemen’s eastern province of Hadramawt. Fierce fighting is ongoing in various areas between the Saudi-backed governor and separatist elements of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has made the security situation in the region extremely tense.

According to the report, heavy weapons are being used between government forces and STC fighters in Hadramawt, while reports of firing and shelling have also been received in several areas.

The clashes have spread fear and panic among the civilian population and disrupted normal life.

The Southern Transitional Council has made serious allegations against Saudi Arabia, saying that its forces near the border have been targeted.

The STC maintains that the actions by the Saudi-backed forces are actually an attempt to eliminate their influence in Hadramawt.

According to the international news agency, eyewitnesses said that the airport in the city of Siyun in Hadhramaut and a military installation were also targeted.

In the initial attacks, the Al-Khasa camp in the Hadhramaut Valley and the Hadhramaut desert area was bombed, where seven people were killed and more than twenty were injured.

On the other hand, the governor of Hadhramaut has rejected the STC’s allegations and said that the aim of the efforts to take back control of the military bases is not to incite any conflict, but to peacefully restore state writ in Yemen’s southern provinces.

He said that the government wants all armed groups to come under state control so that stability can be established in the region.

These fresh clashes have come at a time when news of differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also emerged a few days ago.

Saudi Arabia has accused the UAE of arming the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to seize key provinces such as Hadramaut and Mahra. The accusations come as Yemen’s civil war enters a new and more complex phase.

An unexpected advance by separatists in early December changed the balance of power in Yemen, where the war has been raging for more than a decade.

The move has weakened the coalition against the Houthis and exposed differences between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Yemen has been effectively divided for years, with the Iranian-backed Houthi group controlling the northern mountainous region, while the southern regions are controlled by Gulf-backed forces and southern separatists who claim to operate under an internationally recognized government.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, once considered two pillars of regional security and key members of OPEC, have been at odds in recent years over issues ranging from oil quotas to geopolitics.

There was no immediate response from either Yemen’s internationally-backed government or Saudi officials to the STC statement.