Yemen’s Saudi-backed government launched an operation to take back military positions from the UAE-backed southern separatists on Friday and said it had reclaimed one of the largest military camps in Hadramout province.
The operation in Hadramout marks the latest escalation in Yemen, where a rift between Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who back opposing sides, has been playing out since December.
Once the twin pillars of regional security, the two Gulf heavyweights have seen their interests diverge on everything from oil quotas to geopolitical influence.
Reclaiming Major Base
Hadramout’s Saudi-backed governor, Salem Ahmed Saeed al-Khunbashi, said in a statement on Friday that his forces had taken control of a military camp in al-Khasha’a, the largest and most important base in the province.
The governor had earlier said his forces were launching what he called a “peaceful” operation.
A senior official of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council told Reuters the operation had not been peaceful.
“Saudi Arabia knowingly misled the international community by announcing a peaceful operation that they never had any intention to keep peaceful,” Amr Al Bidh said in a statement.
“This was evidenced by the fact that they launched seven airstrikes minutes later,” he said.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the airstrikes.
It was unclear if there were any casualties.
Military Sites Targeted
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said it had appointed Hadramout’s governor to take overall command of the “Homeland Shield” forces in the eastern province, granting him full military, security and administrative authority in what it said was a move to restore security and order.
“This is not a declaration of war,” the governor said in a speech on Yemen TV, adding that the move aims to prevent the use of camps to threaten security and to protect Hadramout from sliding into chaos.
The oil-producing Hadramout province borders Saudi Arabia, and many prominent Saudis trace their origins to it, lending it cultural and historical significance for the kingdom.
A spokesperson for the STC, Mohammed al-Naqeeb, said on Friday that forces were on full alert across the region and warned that it was ready to respond forcefully in a post on X.
The STC’s Bidh told Reuters that three of the airstrikes targeted the al-Khasha’a military camp.
Three Yemeni sources told Reuters armoured vehicles belonging to the Saudi-backed government had been moving towards the Khasha’a camp, which has the capacity to house thousands of troops and was taken over by the STC in December.
The UAE backs the STC, which seized large swathes of southern Yemen last month from the internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi Arabia, which in turn saw the move as a threat.
The UAE last week said it was pulling its remaining forces out of Yemen after Saudi Arabia backed a call for its forces to leave within 24 hours in one of the severest disagreements between the two Gulf oil powers to ever play out in public.
The move briefly eased tensions, but disagreements between the various groups on the ground in Yemen have persisted since then.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both major players in the OPEC oil exporters’ group, and any disagreements between them in Yemen or elsewhere could hamper consensus on oil output.
They and six other OPEC+ members meet online on Sunday, and OPEC+ delegates have said they will extend a policy of maintaining first-quarter production unchanged.
(with inputs from Reuters)
