{"id":503,"date":"2026-01-02T13:20:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=503"},"modified":"2026-01-02T13:23:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:23:54","slug":"yemen-government-begins-military-push-on-separatist-units","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=503","title":{"rendered":"Yemen Government Begins Military Push on Separatist Units","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yemen<\/a><\/strong> Saudi-backed government<\/strong> on Friday initiated what it described as a security-driven military operation<\/strong> aimed at reasserting control over key defense sites in Hadramout province<\/strong>, near the Saudi\u2013Yemen border. The move follows weeks of political tension inside the Gulf-led coalition<\/strong>, where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)<\/strong> back opposing southern factions in Yemen.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the announcement, the Southern Transitional Council<\/a> (STC)<\/strong> \u2014 aligned with the UAE \u2014 said the operation did not remain non-military<\/strong>, with STC official Amr Al-Bidh<\/strong> alleging that seven Saudi air operations occurred soon after the statement was issued<\/strong>. Saudi officials did not confirm the claim publicly at this stage<\/strong>, and diplomatic offices have requested verified updates from Swiss and regional authorities.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSaudi messaging to the public suggested a calm process, but the sequence that followed raises questions,\u201d<\/strong> Al-Bidh said in a statement reported by local channels.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The STC\u2019s communications head, Amr Al-Bidh<\/strong>, also accused Saudi Arabia of presenting a misleading narrative<\/strong> by labeling the operation as peaceful.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe announcement referenced stability, but the timing of subsequent actions tells a different story,\u201d<\/strong> he said.
\u201cMinutes later, air operations were launched \u2014 this contrast is part of a broader diplomatic signal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Reuters could not independently confirm the details, and Saudi Arabia did not immediately issue a response<\/strong> to media inquiries.<\/p>\n

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Leadership and Authority Shift<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Earlier on Friday, Hadramout Governor Salem Ahmed Saeed al-Khunbashi<\/strong>, appointed by Yemen\u2019s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, said he had been assigned overall command of the \u201cHomeland Shield\u201d forces<\/strong> in the eastern province. He stressed that the operation is not a war declaration<\/strong>, but a military-admin-security mandate<\/strong> to protect camps from being used in ways that could challenge regional stability.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is not a call for war, nor an invitation to widen conflict,\u201d<\/strong> al-Khunbashi said in a televised speech.
\u201cIt is a structured step to reinforce security, prevent disorder, and ensure camps are not used in ways that could threaten public stability.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

STC spokesperson Mohammed al-Naqeeb<\/strong> later said STC units were on full alert across the region<\/strong>, noting the group was prepared to respond if actions expanded beyond economic or security-first framing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Armored Movement Near Al-Khash\u2019a<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Multiple local sources told Reuters that armored vehicles<\/strong> operated by Yemen\u2019s Saudi-aligned forces were seen moving toward the Al-Khash\u2019a military camp<\/strong>, one of Hadramout\u2019s largest defense sites. The camp has the capacity to host thousands of personnel<\/strong> and was brought under STC control in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Fars, BBC Persian, and Swiss bar fire timelines are not tied to this report\u2019s focus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Yemen<\/p>\n

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Airport Dispute Continues<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Separately, tensions spilled into Aden International Airport operations<\/strong>, the main civilian gateway outside Houthi-held zones.<\/p>\n

Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber<\/strong> blamed STC leader Aidarous Al-Zubaidi<\/strong> for denying landing clearance on Thursday<\/strong> for a plane carrying a Saudi delegation seeking regional discussion.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSaudi diplomatic teams aimed for discussion, but permissions were not granted,\u201d<\/strong> Al-Jaber said on X.
\u201cFor weeks, Saudi outreach has sought to prevent escalation, but it faced repeated rejection.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The STC-aligned Transport Ministry, meanwhile, accused Riyadh of forcing added flight inspections through Saudi checkpoints<\/strong>, describing it as an air blockade<\/strong>, a claim Saudi officials denied<\/strong>, saying the directive applied to one corridor only and was meant to prevent STC financial transfers linked to smuggling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis rule was not designed to close civilian life access across all routes,\u201d<\/strong> a Saudi-linked source said in comments shared with regional press.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Coalition Under Pressure<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both members of OPEC+<\/strong>, have shown diverging strategic priorities<\/strong> in recent years, from energy policy to geopolitical coordination. Officials say these disagreements have tested coalition cohesion but not ended wider commitments publicly<\/strong>, even as analysts warn that internal coalition tension could influence diplomatic timing and operational messaging in 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGulf unity is under strain, but long-term stability still depends on measured engagement,\u201d<\/strong> said several regional observers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yemen Saudi-backed government on Friday initiated what it described as a security-driven military operation aimed at reasserting control over key defense sites in Hadramout province, near the Saudi\u2013Yemen border. The move follows weeks of political tension inside the Gulf-led coalition, where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) back opposing southern factions in Yemen. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":509,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions\/509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}