Saudi Arabia demands Yemen separatists withdraw forces

AFP :

Saudi Arabia warned Saturday it would back Yemen’s government in any military confrontation with separatist forces and urged them to withdraw “peacefully” from recently-seized provinces.

The statements came a day after reported Saudi air strikes on separatist positions in Yemen’s Hadramawt province — and after Washington called for restraint in the rapidly escalating conflict.

General Turki al-Malki, the spokesman for the Riyadh-led groups, said they would act “directly and at the appropriate moment … to protect civilian life”, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman posted on X that troops from the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) should “peacefully hand over” two regional governorates to the government.

“It’s time,” he posted, “at this sensitive moment, to let reason prevail by withdrawing from the two provinces and doing so peacefully.”