Saudi Arabia on Thursday warned that recent military movements in Yemeni provinces by the Southern Transitional Council harm the interests of both the southern cause and the wider nation.
The STC, which calls for the restoration of an independent state in the south, recently took control of Hadhramaut and Mahra from other pro-government forces, effectively consolidating control over all southern provinces.
It said the move came after what it described as the failure of other pro-government factions and Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) “to launch” any serious campaign to push the Houthis from their northern strongholds, including Sanaa, Yemen's capital.
Saudi Arabia, which leads the anti-Houthi coalition in Yemen and hosts senior Yemeni government and PLC figures, condemned the STC takeover.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh said the storming of the regions was "carried out unilaterally and without the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council nor in co-ordination with the coalition's leadership", warning that such actions "resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people with all of its segments, as well as the southern cause and the coalition's efforts".
The STC, the most powerful armed faction in southern Yemen, rejected earlier calls to withdraw from the two provinces and said its next target is Sanaa.
However, Saudi Arabia renewed the call for the withdrawal from Hadhramaut and Mahra "in an urgent and orderly manner", saying it "remains hopeful that the public interest will prevail through ending the escalation" from the STC.
The Saudi ministry called for "co-operation among all Yemeni factions and components to exercise restraint, and avoid any measures that could destabilise security and stability, which may result in undesirable consequences". It insisted the "southern cause" should be "resolved through dialogue among all Yemeni parties within the comprehensive political solution in Yemen".
The ministry also highlighted Saudi efforts to stabilise the situation in southern Yemen, including sending a joint delegation with the UAE, another coalition member, to restore the situation to its previous state.
The Yemeni government welcomed the Saudi statement and said security measures undertaken outside the state's institutional frameworks constitute an "unacceptable source of tension".
Yemen, which lies between Saudi Arabia and an important shipping route on the Red Sea, was split into northern and southern states until 1990. The STC describes independence as an aspiration of all southerners.
The Houthis captured Sanaa in late 2014 and the interim government fled south in 2015, with the Saudi-led coalition intervening against the Houthis.
