Yemen Separatists Announce Independence Plan as Saudi-Led Airstrikes Kill 20

A separatist military official and medical sources said 20 fighters were killed in airstrikes on two military bases as the coalition also targeted an airport and other areas.

The bombardment and surprise independence bid followed weeks of tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over land grabs by the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).

Yemen, which was divided into North and South from 1967 to 1990, may be divided again within two years if the STC’s independence plan is realized. He will name the new country “South Arabia”.

STC chairman Aidaros Alzubidi said the transition phase would include dialogue with Yemen’s north, controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and an independence referendum.

But he warned that if there was no dialogue or southern Yemen was attacked again, the group would “immediately” declare independence.

“The Council calls on the international community to sponsor dialogue between relevant parties in the South and North,” Alzubidi said in a televised speech. he said.

“If this call is not heeded or if the people, lands or forces of the South are subjected to any military attack, this constitutional declaration shall be deemed to have immediate and direct effect before that date (January 2, 2028).” he added.

In a largely unopposed advance last month, STC forces captured most of the resource-rich Hadramawt bordering Saudi Arabia and neighboring Mahra province bordering Oman.

The Saudis and the UAE have supported rival groups in Yemen’s fragmented government areas for years. But the STC’s attack angered Riyadh and pitted oil-rich Gulf powers against each other.

– ‘Existential’ war –

Following repeated warnings and airstrikes this week over alleged UAE arms shipments, the Saudi-led coalition launched a wave of attacks on Friday.

Mohammed Abdulmalik, head of the STC in Wadi Hadramaut and Hadramaut Desert, said seven airstrikes hit the Al-Khasha military camp.

The new attacks targeted other sites in the region, including the airport and military base in Seiyun, STC military sources and witnesses told AFP.

Reyad Khames, a resident of a village near Al-Khasha, said: “Saudi planes are chasing STC fighters. We don’t know what type of planes they are; we just see flashes and explosions hitting checkpoints, paving the way for (Saudi-backed) forces to advance.”

Friday’s deaths are the first from coalition fire since the STC’s campaign began.

The separatists’ military spokesman said it was in an “existential” battle with Saudi-backed forces, describing it as a fight against radical Islamism in which the UAE has long been preoccupied.

The airstrikes came shortly after pro-Saudi forces launched a campaign to “peacefully” take control of military facilities in Hadhramaut.

“This operation is not a declaration of war or an attempt to escalate tensions,” said Hadramawt Governor Salem Al-Khanbashi, who is also the leader of the province’s Saudi-backed forces, according to Saba Net news agency.

Saudi sources confirmed that the attacks were carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, which nominally includes the UAE and was formed in 2015 in a futile attempt to dislodge Houthi rebels in Yemen’s north.

A source close to the Saudi military warned that the attacks “will not stop until the Southern Transitional Council withdraws from the two governorates.”

– Rival groups –

The wealthy Gulf states formed the backbone of a military coalition aimed at ousting the Houthis, who forced the government away from the capital Sanaa in 2014 and seized territory that includes most of Yemen’s population.

But after a brutal decade-long civil war, the Houthis hold their ground and the Saudis and Emiratis support separate factions in government-controlled areas.

Yemen’s Aden-based government consists of a coalition of fractious groups, including the STC, united by its opposition to the Houthis.

The UAE, which withdrew most of its troops from Yemen in 2019, vowed on Tuesday to withdraw the rest following airstrikes on alleged arms shipments at the coalition’s Mukalla port, although it denied it contained weapons.

On Friday, a UAE government official confirmed that all troops had left and added that Abu Dhabi “remains committed to dialogue, de-escalation and internationally supported processes as the only sustainable path to peace.”