Airstrikes target STC forces HQ in Yemen’s Mukalla amid escalation

By Shukri Hussein and Rania Abushamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Airstrikes hit the headquarters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces in Yemen’s eastern city of Mukalla on Saturday amid rising tensions in the country’s south, witnesses told Anadolu.

Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Parshid Brigade headquarters, west of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadhramaut province, they added.

No details were yet available about casualties or the party behind the strikes.

The Hadhramaut Protection Forces, a tribal force loyal to the Yemeni government, also said in a statement that they had captured several military sites from the STC in the same city.

The statement urged residents “to stay away from any other locations where STC fighters are present, and to halt looting and theft.”

Hadhramaut Governor Salem al-Khanbashi, for his part, urged security forces and residents to protect public and private property from any acts of vandalism amid clashes with STC fighters.

The developments came hours after the Yemeni government announced that its Nation’s Shield Forces had gained full control of the desert and valley region of Hadhramaut, adding that the forces were moving toward the province’s coastal districts, including Mukalla.

Hadhramaut is Yemen’s largest governorate by area, accounting for roughly one-third of the country’s total territory.

It is administratively divided into two parts: one comprising the coastal districts, with Mukalla as the largest city, and the other encompassing the Valley and Desert districts, with Seiyun as the largest city.

Yemen has seen an unprecedented escalation since Tuesday, after the STC forces took control of Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra in early December. The two provinces account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory and share borders with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of “pushing STC forces to carry out military operations” along the kingdom’s southern border in Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra. Abu Dhabi denied the accusation.

The STC says successive Yemeni governments have marginalized southern regions politically and economically and calls for secession. Yemeni authorities reject the claim and reaffirm their commitment to the country’s unity.