Saudi-led coalition fighter jets struck forces loyal to Yemen’s UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in the Hadhramaut province on Friday after they allegedly set up ambushes targeting Yemeni government troops during the handover of military positions, said Yemen’s Information Ministry undersecretary.
Mohammed Qizan told Al Jazeera that “coalition fighter jets are striking STC forces that are setting up ambushes” in the province.
They had set up ambushes along the route of Yemeni government forces as they were taking over military positions in the Hadhramaut province, said an Anadolu correspondent.
Hadhramaut Governor Salem al-Khanbashi said the airstrikes targeted forces that attacked the “Dera’ Al-Watan” units as they advanced on Friday to take over military positions, adding that ambushes of the units’ peaceful movement prompted the strikes.
He also urged residents of Hadhramaut not to interfere with the forces or set up ambushes during their deployment.
STC officials said the coalition strikes killed and wounded an unknown number of people.
A senior STC official said that seven air strikes hit a camp in the Al-Khasah area of Hadramaut, adding that STC forces repelled a ground assault following the strikes. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia, though a senior STC official said the air raids were launched by the kingdom.
The STC earlier said its forces were placed on full alert after the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government announced an operation to reclaim military sites in the province.
The air strikes came hours after Saudi Arabia said that STC chief Aidarus al-Zubaidi ordered the blocking of a Saudi aircraft carrying an official delegation from landing in the southern port city of Aden, where the international airport was closed.
Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber said on X that the airport was shut on Wednesday following directives from STC leadership, leading to the suspension of civilian flights and preventing the Saudi delegation from landing.
He described the move as a “dangerous escalation” that undermines political and security coordination, accusing al-Zubaidi of prioritising personal political and financial interests.
The STC announced on Thursday that operations at Aden airport — one of Yemen’s few functioning gateways outside Houthi control — had been suspended. The airport serves routes to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
Al-Jaber also accused the STC leader, who sits on Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, of taking unilateral decisions and leading military operations in Hadramaut and Al-Mahra, resulting in security breakdowns and civilian casualties.
While reaffirming Saudi support for what it called the “just Southern cause,” the envoy said any resolution must come through political dialogue, not military escalation.
Tensions have surged since early December, when UAE-backed STC forces seized large swathes of Hadramaut and neighbouring Al-Mahra — two resource-rich provinces that together make up nearly half of Yemen’s territory and border Saudi Arabia and Oman.
On Friday, Hadramaut governor Salem al-Khanbashi, who was also appointed head of the Saudi-backed National Shield forces in the province, announced an operation to “peacefully” reclaim military sites from the separatists. He insisted the move was not a declaration of war and did not target civilians or political groups.
The latest clashes underline deepening fractures within Yemen’s anti-Houthi camp. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — key allies in the coalition formed to fight the Iran-backed Houthis — back rival factions in government-held areas, complicating already stalled peace talks.
The STC, which calls for the secession of southern Yemen, says southern regions have long been politically and economically marginalised. Yemen’s government rejects those claims and maintains that the country’s unity is non-negotiable.
