Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged Yemen’s separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to withdraw its forces from two eastern governorates it has moved into, warning that the move could ignite tensions within the fragile anti-Houthi coalition fighting the Iran-aligned rebels.
In a statement issued on Christmas Day, the Saudi Foreign Ministry appeared to publicly pressure the STC to withdraw, AP reports.
Riyadh supports other Yemeni forces, including the National Shield Forces, as part of the military campaign it launched against the Houthis in 2015.
“The Kingdom stresses the importance of cooperation among all Yemeni factions and components, the exercise of restraint, and the avoidance of any actions that could undermine security and stability and lead to undesirable consequences,” the ministry said.
The STC has recently expanded its presence in the governorates of Hadramout and Mahra. Saudi Arabia said ongoing mediation efforts are aimed at ensuring STC forces return to “their previous positions outside the two governorates” and hand over camps in those areas to the National Shield Forces.
“These efforts are continuing to restore the situation to its previous state,” the statement added.
The STC has increasingly raised the flag of former South Yemen, which existed as a separate state from 1967 until unification in 1990.
