In a dramatic escalation of internal tensions within the Saudi-led coalition, Saudi Arabian warplanes have conducted airstrikes against forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in southern Yemen. The reported strikes on Friday, 2nd January 2026, targeted camps belonging to the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the governorate of Hadramout.
Operation in Hadramout: Airstrikes and Advance
The military action unfolded as part of a Saudi-led operation attempting to take control of STC camps in Hadramout, a region that borders Saudi Arabia. According to a statement from Ahmed bin Breik, the STC deputy and former governor of Hadramout, the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces advanced towards the separatist positions. The STC's refusal to withdraw apparently precipitated the aerial bombardment. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
This confrontation follows a significant move last month where STC forces pushed into Yemen's governorates of Hadramout and Mahra, seizing an oil-rich area. This manoeuvre effectively displaced forces affiliated with the Saudi-supported National Shield Forces, a group nominally aligned with the coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis.
In contrast, Salem al-Khanbashi, the newly appointed governor of Hadramout chosen by Yemen's internationally recognised government to command coalition forces there, described the operation as "peaceful." In a speech aired on state media, he asserted it was a "responsible pre-emptive measure" to remove weapons and prevent chaos, not a declaration of war.
Diplomatic Rifts and Travel Bans
The military clash is mirrored by a deepening diplomatic rift. The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, accused STC head Aidarous al-Zubaidi of blocking a Saudi mediation delegation from landing in Aden, despite prior agreement. In a post on X, al-Jaber expressed frustration over "continued intransigence" from the STC after weeks of attempted de-escalation talks.
Further inflaming tensions, Yemen's STC-aligned transport ministry claimed that Saudi Arabia imposed new requirements on Thursday mandating all flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah. The ministry denounced the move, with a spokesperson stating all flights from and to the UAE were suspended until Saudi Arabia reversed the measures. Saudi authorities have not confirmed this report.
Fractured Alliance and Yemen's Future
The coalition now formally demands the withdrawal of STC forces from Hadramout and Mahra as part of de-escalation, a demand the separatists have so far refused. This episode starkly highlights the fracturing of the Saudi-UAE alliance in Yemen's complex civil war. While both nations support the internationally recognised government against the Houthis, the UAE has concurrently backed the southern separatists who seek to secede, reviving the former independent state of South Yemen.
Yemen's war, ongoing for over a decade, now faces a perilous new phase where former allies are trading airstrikes and accusations, complicating any path to peace and underscoring the volatile proxy dynamics that continue to ravage the country.
