Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes on separatist positions in Yemen’s southern Hadramout province, according to a report by French news agency AFP on Friday (December 26). There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The strikes came a day after Riyadh urged Yemeni separatist forces to withdraw from areas they had recently seized. Saudi Arabia is the main backer of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is currently facing internal strains amid shifting alliances on the ground.
Separatist advances in southern Yemen have increased pressure on both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), regional allies that support rival factions within the internationally recognised government. The government itself is a coalition of several groups, including some separatist elements, united primarily by their opposition to the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
Despite relative calm in recent years, the latest Saudi airstrikes have raised concerns about a fresh escalation in Yemen, where conflict has persisted for more than a decade and drawn in regional powers including Iran and Saudi Arabia.
A separatist-affiliated outlet, Aden Independent, said in a social media post that Saudi warplanes bombed positions of the Hadrami Elite Forces in Wadi Nahb, Hadramout. The Hadrami Elite Forces are linked to southern separatist factions.
The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) told AFP that Saudi Arabia carried out two strikes in the area. However, the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government did not immediately confirm the attacks.
The airstrikes reportedly followed clashes on Thursday between separatist fighters and a tribal leader aligned with Saudi Arabia. A military official in Hadramout told AFP that the tribal leader left the area after the clashes.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia had called on separatist groups to withdraw from Hadramout and Mahra provinces, which they seized earlier this month. The UAE has welcomed Saudi efforts to strengthen security in Yemen, with both Gulf allies attempting to present a united front despite backing different sides in recent confrontations.
Riyadh said a joint Saudi-Emirati military delegation visited Aden earlier this month and requested the STC to hand back the two provinces. Saudi Arabia said its efforts to ease tensions are ongoing. However, an STC-linked source said the group rejected calls to withdraw from the newly captured areas.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned last week that the STC’s advances risked “greater escalation and further fragmentation.” He cautioned that a full return to war could have serious consequences for regional peace and security, urging all parties to take steps to de-escalate tensions.
Yemen has remained divided since 2014, when Houthi forces ousted the government from the capital Sanaa and went on to seize much of the country’s north, including its most densely populated areas. Since 2015, the Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting the Saudi-led coalition in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and triggered a severe humanitarian crisis.
Although a UN-brokered truce in 2022 significantly reduced hostilities, the latest developments underscore the fragility of Yemen’s uneasy calm and the continued risk of renewed conflict.