Yemen government accuses STC-aligned militia of storming Al Rayyan Airport in Hadhramaut

By Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Yemen’s internationally recognized government accused a militia affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Thursday of storming Al Rayyan Airport in the eastern Hadhramaut province and looting its contents.

The state-run Yemen TV reported that an STC-affiliated militia stormed the airport and looted everything inside.

There was no immediate comment from the STC on the report.

Al Rayyan Airport, located in the provincial capital Mukalla, is an international airport but has been largely inactive since Yemen fell into civil war in 2014. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had used it as a military base, according to Yemeni media.

State television reported Wednesday that UAE forces had begun withdrawing from Al Rayyan Airport in Mukalla, saying four military cargo planes departed the airport carrying hundreds of soldiers, heavy equipment, and technological systems.

Tension escalated in southern Yemen last month after the STC forces captured Hadramaut and Al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen after clashes with government forces. The two governorates together make up nearly half of Yemen’s land area.

Saudi Arabia accused the UAE of pushing the STC forces to carry out military operations along the kingdom’s southern border in Hadramout and Mahra. The UAE rejected what it called “allegations” and stressed its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security.

On Tuesday, Yemen’s presidential council cancelled a joint defense agreement with the UAE and ordered all Emirati forces to leave Yemen within 24 hours and declared a 90-day state of emergency, citing what he described as “attempts to divide the country.”

The Emirati Defense Ministry later said it had completed the mission of its remaining counterterrorism teams in Yemen, adding that it ended its military presence in 2019 as part of the Saudi-led coalition.

The STC repeatedly claims that successive governments have politically and economically marginalized southern regions and calls for their separation from the north — claims rejected by the Yemeni authorities, as they insist on preserving the country’s territorial unity.