Saudi Arabia calls on Yemen separatists to leave 2 governorates as anti-Houthi coalition strains
- - Saudi Arabia calls on Yemen separatists to leave 2 governorates as anti-Houthi coalition strains
December 25, 2025 at 6:30 AM
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This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo) ()
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday formally called on separatists in Yemen to withdraw from two governorates their forces now control in the country, a move that threatens sparking a confrontation within a fragile coalition that's battling the Houthi rebels there.
The statement from Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry on Christmas morning appeared aimed at putting public pressure on the Southern Transitional Council, a force long backed by the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has backed other fighters within Yemen, including a force known as the National Shield Forces, in the war against the Houthis the kingdom launched in 2015.
“The kingdom stresses the importance of cooperation among all Yemeni factions and components to exercise restraint and avoid any measures that could destabilize security and stability, which may result in undesirable consequences,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry warned.
The council has moved into Yemen's governorates of Hadramout and Mahra. The Saudi statement said meditation efforts were aimed at having the Council's forces return to “their previous positions outside of the two governorates and handover the camps in those areas” to the National Shield Forces.
“These efforts remain in progress to restore the situation to its previous statement,” the ministry added.
The council has increasingly flown the flag of the flag of South Yemen, which was a separate country from 1967 until the nation's reunification in 1990. That's also put pressure on the relationship between neighboring Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which maintains close relations but also have vied for more intensely for influence and business in recent years.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
