PNN – Saudi Defense Minister, while warning UAE mercenaries regarding escalating the situation in southern and eastern Yemen, stated that the Southern Transitional Council must withdraw its elements from Al Mahrah and Hadramaut.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network citing Al Jazeera, Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi Defense Minister, said: The time has come for the Southern Transitional Council to heed the voice of reason and wisdom by responding to mediation efforts.
He added: The Southern Transitional Council must end its provocative actions and withdraw its elements from camps in Hadramaut and Al Mahrah provinces.
Khalid bin Salman emphasized that the southern Yemen issue will be part of any comprehensive political solution and will not be forgotten or marginalized.
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Saudi Arabia’s statement on the attack on Emirati mercenaries
This Saudi military official stated: The southern issue must be resolved through consensus, not through hasty actions that only serve the common enemy.
These remarks by the Saudi Defense Minister came after the Southern Transitional Council rejected Riyadh’s recent request to withdraw its elements from Al Mahrah and Hadramaut, and Yemeni sources reported that Saudi Arabia has targeted this council’s positions with airstrikes.
Amid escalating clashes among the mercenaries of the invading coalition in Yemen, Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition’s spokesperson, emphasized this morning Saudi Arabia’s continued support for the mercenary government based in Aden, threatened the UAE-affiliated Southern Transitional Council, and announced: We will deal seriously with any military movement that violates efforts to reduce tensions.
The spokesperson for the invading coalition emphasized that these actions are part of our continued efforts to reduce tensions and withdraw Southern Transitional Council elements from Hadramaut and Al Mahrah.
It is worth noting that clashes between UAE and Saudi mercenaries in eastern and southern Yemen have intensified for weeks. These clashes reached such a level that the US has also expressed concern over the widening rift among these mercenaries.
Hadramaut and Al Mahrah provinces in eastern Yemen have become one of the main focal points of competition between UAE and Saudi mercenaries. The so-called UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council forces have gained control of oil-rich areas, and this advancement has faced Saudi reactions, to the extent that Saudi Arabia has demanded the Southern Transitional Council withdraw its forces from Hadramaut and Al Mahrah and reduce tensions.
The Southern Transitional Council of Yemen was formed in 2017 with the direct support of the United Arab Emirates and has had deep disputes with the Saudi-backed self-proclaimed Yemeni government from the beginning; disputes that have repeatedly led to armed clashes in Aden and other southern regions over the years.
In recent years, concurrently with the reduction of Saudi Arabia’s direct role in the Yemen war and the intensification of disputes between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, the Transitional Council has practically become a dominant actor in southern Yemen.