Saudi Arabia and the UAE face diverging interests in the war in Yemen. Escalation of the conflict in the south includes battles for control over strategically important areas.
The Saudi-led coalition announced on Wednesday that it had launched “limited pre-emptive strikes” in Yemen to prevent separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from escalating the conflict. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- The Saudi-led coalition carried out pre-emptive strikes in Yemen.
- UAE-backed separatists continue offensive in southern Yemen.
- Control over the provinces of Hadramaut and Mahra was strengthened by the separatists.
The forces of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is officially part of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, launched an offensive in southern Yemen in early December with the support of the UAE. They managed to take control of large parts of the oil-rich Hadramaut province and part of the neighboring Mahra province. They pushed out from there the units loyal to the Yemeni government linked to the Islamist forces that were supported by Saudi Arabia in the past.
Strikes on separatists
The Saudi-led coalition launched attacks last week that repulsed the separatists, according to AFP.
The coalition reported new attacks on Wednesday in an effort to prevent separatist leader Ajdarús al-Zubaidi from “escalating the conflict”. It says it is working with the Yemeni government and local officials “to support security measures and maintain order.”
The leader of the separatists has disappeared
Az-Zubajdi was due to travel to Riyadh on Tuesday for talks aimed at de-escalating the clashes. His plane was delayed and he was not on board when it took off, according to the coalition. “He flew to an unknown location and left the members and leaders (of the separatist group) without any information about his whereabouts,” she said.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have long supported rival factions in Yemen. They initially joined forces in a Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Divided Yemen
For more than a decade, Yemen has been effectively divided into a north controlled by the pro-Iranian Houthis and a south controlled by a fragmented coalition.
