Saudi Airstrikes Target STC Camp in Yemen’s Largest Province

Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes on a Southern Transitional Council military camp in Yemen’s vast Hadhramaut province, escalating tensions in a region already strained by shifting alliances. The strikes took place on Friday, January 2, and directly targeted STC positions. The move has intensified diplomatic friction between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which has long backed the STC. Under Saudi pressure, the UAE has also begun withdrawing its forces from Yemen.

An STC official told AFP that several people were killed or injured in the attack, though he did not provide exact numbers. Mohammed Abdulmalik, the STC leader for Wadi Hadhramaut and the Hadhramaut desert region, said Saudi forces launched seven separate airstrikes on the group’s Al Khasah camp. He added that there was also an attempt at a ground assault, which STC fighters managed to repel. He did not disclose casualty details.

Just days earlier, on December 30, Saudi Arabia also struck the port of Mukalla in Hadhramaut. Yemeni authorities and Saudi officials claimed the port was being used to store weapons intended for the STC, prompting what they described as a limited air operation.