DOHA, December 25. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia views the actions of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the eastern Yemeni provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahra as an unjustified escalation and hopes that the separatists will retreat to their previous positions, a statement from the kingdom’s Foreign Ministry reads.
"In this context, the Kingdom worked with the brotherly United Arab Emirates, the President of the Presidential Leadership Council, and the brotherly Yemeni government to contain the situation. A joint military team was sent from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to put the necessary arrangements in place with the Southern Transitional Council in [the temporary capital of] Aden. These arrangements were taken to ensure the return of the Southern Transitional Council forces to their previous positions outside the two governorates and handover the [military] camps in those areas to the Nation Shield Forces (subordinate to the Presidential Leadership Council - TASS) and the local authorities," the document, published on the ministry’s page on X, notes.
The kingdom’s Foreign Ministry pointed out that Saudi Arabia continues to make relevant efforts and expects that the public interest will prevail "through ending the escalation by the Southern Transitional Council and the withdrawal of its forces from the two governorates in an urgent and orderly manner." Riyadh is convinced that the STC started combat operations in Hadramout and Al-Mahra "unilaterally, and without the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council nor in coordination with the Coalition’s leadership," which resulted in an unjustified escalation. Therefore, the kingdom called on all Yemeni forces to cooperate, exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could destabilize the situation.
On December 9, addressing a meeting in Aden, the provisional capital of Yemen, STC Chairperson Aidarus al-Zoubaidi declared full control over the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahra. He noted that next-stage plans include establishing institutions of a future state in southern Yemen. On December 15, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a UAE-backed separatist group, announced the launch of an antiterror operation in Abyan Governorate in the south of the republic.
STC forces have taken southern Yemen under full control, while some in an internationally recognized government, backed by Saudi Arabia, have fled Aden, a source told TASS earlier. On December 13, the general staff controlled by the government reported that at least 32 servicemen were killed in the seizure of Hadramout by STC forces and 45 soldiers were injured.