Riyadh urges withdrawal of UAE-backed forces from Yemen's Hadhramaut

A Saudi official made a visit this week to Hadhramaut province, where UAE-backed STC forces have recently been advancing  

News Desk - The Cradle 

A Saudi delegation visited Yemen’s Hadhramaut province on 9 September, calling for a return to “stability” and the withdrawal of UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, which have been advancing and have captured several oil facilities and strategic areas in recent weeks.

The Saudi delegation was headed by Major General Mohammad al-Qahtani. The military official held talks with local officials during the visit, including Hadhramaut governor Salim Khanbashi. 

“Hadhramaut is a cornerstone and a primary priority for stability, not a field or arena for conflict. Hadhramaut has qualified cadres among its sons to manage its affairs and resources, which should be administered through official state institutions represented by the government and the local authority,” Qahtani said, according to Yemen’s SABA news agency.

He also called for “the withdrawal of all forces affiliated with the STC” and “restoring the situation to its previous state.”

Qahtani added that a deal has been reached that will see the STC hand over the PetroMasila oil facilities to tribal forces allied with Riyadh – the Hadhramaut Protection Forces. This aims to protect the facilities from “conflict” and keep them “neutral and operational.”

The STC seized control of the Al-Aqlah oil facility in Yemen’s Shabwa province on 7 December.

Several other vital and strategic areas in the central province of Shabwa have also fallen to the STC in recent days, following significant advancements in Hadhramaut weeks earlier. 

Yemeni media reported on Monday that Saudi forces evacuated troops from Aden airport and the presidential palace, where both the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) government and the STC have been based in recent years.

Last week, STC forces seized the major city of Seiyun in the Hadhramaut province, Yemen’s largest province. In an operation dubbed “Promising Future,” STC forces took the city after clashes with troops affiliated with the PLC Ministry of Defense. 

Seiyun is the second largest city in the energy-rich province of Hadhramaut. 

STC forces have also recently managed to capture some areas in the oil-rich province of Mahra, bringing its units closer to the border with Oman. The UAE-backed militias have reportedly been raiding, looting, and terrorizing civilians throughout their advance.

Clashes have raged across Hadhramaut since last month. The Saudi-backed Hadhramaut Protection Forces recently called for all forms of “resistance” against advancing STC forces.

Some reports have said the latest seizure of territory by the STC came with little fighting, prompting observers to speculate that the areas were handed over to the Emirati-backed group.

“If the STC continues to advance at this rate in the coming weeks and months, it is likely that this has all been agreed upon by Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” says The Cradle’s Yemen expert Karim Shami. 

A ceasefire was reached on 3 December, but quickly collapsed as the STC continued to advance. 

The latest advancements mean the STC now controls a major part of the territory that makes up the independent, secessionist state the group aspires to form in south Yemen.

The UAE was a major partner in the Saudi-led war launched against Yemen and the Ansarallah-led government in Sanaa, which began in 2015. 

Despite this, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been embroiled in a rivalry for control and influence in Yemen over the past few years. Critics accuse both countries of seeking to divide Yemen to control its natural resources and strategic ports within their respective spheres of influence.