Daijiworld Media Network - Aden
Aden, Jan 2: Flight operations at Aden International Airport in Yemen were suspended on Thursday amid escalating tensions between the Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatist group and the Saudi Arabia-backed internationally recognised government, reports said.
According to Reuters, all flights were halted at the airport, though authorities have not clarified when normal operations would resume.
The STC, while officially part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels since 2015, has been pushing for a separate state in southern Yemen. In December, the group expanded its military presence in Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces, bordering Saudi Arabia, triggering a sharp rise in tensions.
Saudi Arabia has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — also a member of the anti-Houthi coalition — of backing and arming the STC and encouraging its expansion in the region, alleging it poses a threat to Saudi national security. The UAE has denied these claims, maintaining that it supports Saudi security interests. While the UAE has agreed to withdraw its remaining troops from Yemen, the STC has refused to pull back from the contested provinces.
On Thursday, the STC-aligned Transport Ministry within Yemen’s internationally recognised government claimed the suspension was due to new Saudi-imposed requirements mandating inspections of flights in Jeddah. However, Saudi sources denied restricting flights, stating that the decision was taken by Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and applied only to flights bound for the UAE.
Yemeni presidential adviser Thabet al-Ahmadi confirmed that inspections were imposed on a specific route to prevent alleged STC-linked money smuggling. He added that the government did not favour a complete suspension of flights and wanted air traffic to continue smoothly.
Earlier this week, the UAE announced the voluntary withdrawal of its remaining “counterterrorism” forces from Yemen, following a Saudi strike on what Riyadh described as a UAE-linked weapons shipment in the southern port city of Mukalla.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council chief Rashad al-Alimi warned that any further entrenchment by the STC in the provinces would have serious consequences. The STC, however, has remained defiant, saying it will maintain its presence while coordinating with the Homeland Shield forces, aligned with the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition.
Yemen has remained mired in civil war since Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, with multiple factions vying for control across different regions of the country.