Saudi Arabia rejects the Southern Transitional Council's moves in Hadramawt and supports stability in Yemen
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its firm stance against the unilateral military actions recently undertaken by the Southern Transitional Council in the governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra. The Kingdom clarified that these actions were carried out without coordination with the Presidential Leadership Council or the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, thus posing a direct threat to efforts to de-escalate tensions and stabilize the liberated areas.
Crisis context and containment efforts
These developments come at a time when the Kingdom is exerting intensive diplomatic and field efforts to unify the Yemeni ranks and overcome internal divisions, based on the principles of the Riyadh Agreement and the Yemeni-Yemeni consultations that led to the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council. In this context, Riyadh has worked in continuous coordination with its brothers in the United Arab Emirates and the Presidential Leadership Council to contain the escalating situation, and a joint team has been dispatched to oversee the necessary security arrangements.
These diplomatic moves aim to ensure the withdrawal of the Transitional Council forces from the two governorates, and the handover of camps and vital sites to the "Homeland Shield" forces, as they are the force authorized to maintain security and stability in those sensitive areas, and to avoid dragging the relatively safe eastern governorates into the throes of side conflicts that only serve the Houthi militias.
The strategic importance of Hadhramaut and Al Mahrah
The governorates of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra hold immense strategic and economic importance in Yemen, representing a vital geographical and economic depth for the country. The Kingdom considers any destabilization in these areas an undermining of the legitimate government's authority and a violation of the transitional phase's framework. Escalating military conflict in these regions threatens to derail efforts to address the economic and humanitarian challenges facing the Yemeni people and impedes the development path supported by the Kingdom through comprehensive political and economic programs.
The Kingdom's position on the Southern issue
In a related context, the Kingdom reiterated its support for the just cause of southern Yemen , emphasizing that it is an integral part of any comprehensive future political settlement in Yemen. However, Riyadh stressed that this issue concerns all southerners across their diverse social and political spectrum and cannot be reduced to a single political movement or specific individuals. It warned against replicating the model of militias that impose their agendas by force of arms, outside of legal and legitimate frameworks.
The Kingdom’s leadership – may God support it – continues its efforts to move Yemen from a stage of conflicts and wars to a stage of security and prosperity, in order to achieve the aspirations of the brotherly Yemeni people towards a stable future, far from the language of escalation and reckless military adventures.
