Clashes have erupted in Yemen’s Hadramout province near the Saudi border between forces loyal to the Saudi-backed governor and the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its fighters.
Governor Salem al-Khanbashi said the campaign to retake military bases from the STC is aimed at peacefully and systematically restoring control over the southern province. The STC is seeking an independent southern state, either through armed struggle or via a newly announced two-year referendum supported by international mediation.
While its long-term goal is peaceful independence, the group’s immediate objective is to expel Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. Saudi Arabia has intervened militarily, with fighter jets targeting STC positions as street clashes continue between both sides.
The STC recently withdrew from a key checkpoint in Hadramout, as Saudi-backed forces advanced following the group’s seizure of large areas of Hadramout and neighbouring al-Mahra last month amid regional rivalries between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Yemen’s capital, Sanaa
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