Tensions between Saudi, UAE allies threaten government in south Yemen
The Saudi Arabia-UAE coalition intervened in the war in Yemen to restore the government’s seat in Sanaa, but today fighting between proxies for Riyadh and Abu Dhabi could topple the same government in the temporary capital of Aden.
BEIRUT — Battles and divisiveness keep spreading like wildfire in Yemen amid regional tension ravaging its security and stability, as no clear, serious international stances are taken. Consequently, several authorities have emerged in one country, forming different forces instead of one cohesive army.
Fierce battles have erupted in southern Yemen between the internationally recognized government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), after the latter announced a coup against the prior on Aug. 7 and took control of the temporary capital of Aden and Abyan governorate on Aug. 10.
Later on, the STC moved directly east toward the oil- and gas-rich Shabwah governorate, which is quite different from Aden and Abyan in terms of complex geography and solid Bedouin demography. The STC then overstepped the unspoken influence quota between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the south and suffered a resounding defeat there.
It is noteworthy that the UAE is extending its influence on the ports of Aden, Mocha, Bab el-Mandeb, and the strategic islands of Miyun and Socotra, while Riyadh is strongly present in Shabwah, Mahra, and Wadi Hadhramaut eastern Yemen.
