\n<\/p>\n
Saudi defence minister urges Yemen\u2019s STC to withdraw \u201cpeacefully\u201d from seized provinces, Hadramout and al-Mahra.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says it will respond to any separatist military movements that undermine de-escalation efforts in the southern region, as Riyadh doubles down on calls for the group to \u201cpeacefully\u201d withdraw from recently seized eastern provinces.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said on X on Saturday that \u201cit\u2019s time\u201d for troops from the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) to \u201clet reason prevail by withdrawing from the two provinces and doing so peacefully\u201d.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said \u201cany military movements that violate these [de-escalation] efforts will be dealt with directly and immediately in order to protect civilian lives and ensure the success of restoring calm,\u201d according to the Saudi Press Agency.<\/p>\n Al-Maliki also accused the STC separatists of \u201cserious and horrific human rights violations against civilians\u201d, without providing evidence.<\/p>\n The statements came a day after the STC accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes\u00a0on separatist positions in Yemen\u2019s Hadramout province, and after Washington called for restraint in the rapidly escalating conflict.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, forces aligned to the STC took over large chunks from the Saudi-backed government in the provinces of Hadramout and al-Mahra. The STC and the government have been allies for years in the fight against the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.<\/p>\n Abdullah al-Alimi, a member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, the governing body of the internationally recognised government, welcomed the Saudi defence minister\u2019s remarks, considering them to \u201cclearly reflect the kingdom\u2019s steadfast stance and sincere concern for Yemen\u2019s security and stability\u201d, he said on X.<\/p>\n Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, said after an emergency meeting late on Friday that STC movements posed \u201cserious violations against civilians\u201d.<\/p>\n The STC, which has previously received military and financial backing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is seeking to revive the formerly independent state of South Yemen. The group warned on Friday that they were undeterred after strikes it blamed on Saudi Arabia hit their positions.<\/p>\n In Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: \u201cWe urge restraint and continued diplomacy, with a view to reaching a lasting solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Azerbaijan, meanwhile, said it welcomed efforts led by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to de-escalate ongoing tensions in Yemen.<\/p>\n Following Friday\u2019s raids, Yemen\u2019s government urged the Saudi-led coalition to support its forces in Hadramout, after separatists seized most of the country\u2019s largest province.<\/p>\n The government asked the coalition to \u201ctake all necessary military measures to protect innocent Yemeni civilians in Hadramout province and support the armed forces\u201d, the official Yemeni news agency said.<\/p>\n A Yemeni military official said on Friday that about 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters were amassed near the Saudi border but had not been given orders to advance on separatist-held territory. The areas where they were deployed are at the edges of territory seized in recent weeks by the STC.<\/p>\n Separatist advances have added pressure on ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, close allies who support rival groups within Yemen\u2019s government.<\/p>\n On Friday, the UAE welcomed Saudi efforts to support security in Yemen, as the two Gulf allies sought to present a united front.<\/p>\n Yemen\u2019s government is a patchwork of groups that includes the separatists, and is held together by shared opposition to the Houthis.<\/p>\n The Houthis pushed the government out of Yemen\u2019s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, and secured control over most of the north.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Saudi defence minister urges Yemen\u2019s STC to withdraw \u201cpeacefully\u201d from seized provinces, Hadramout and al-Mahra. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says it will respond to any separatist military movements that undermine de-escalation efforts in the southern region, as Riyadh doubles down on calls for the group to \u201cpeacefully\u201d withdraw from recently seized eastern provinces. Saudi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Diplomacy, de-escalation?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"