ISTANBUL

Hadramaut Governor Salem Al-Khanbashi said Thursday that the Southern Transitional Council (STC) has no option but to fully withdraw forces from the eastern Yemeni province or face a military confrontation.

“The problem still exists as the STC has not withdrawn yet. It has no choice but to fully and unconditionally withdraw or face a military confrontation,” he said in an interview with Saudi state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV.

He accused the STC forces of seeking to seize control of oil resources in the province.

These forces “will not withdraw peacefully as expected,” Khanbashi said.

Tension escalated in southern Yemen last month after the STC forces captured Hadramaut and Al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen after clashes with government forces. The two governorates together make up nearly half of Yemen’s land area.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of pushing the STC forces to carry out military operations along the kingdom’s southern border. The UAE rejected what it called “allegations” and stressed its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security.

On the same day, Yemen’s presidential council cancelled a joint defense agreement with the UAE and ordered all Emirati forces to leave Yemen within 24 hours.

The STC repeatedly claims that successive governments have politically and economically marginalized southern regions and calls for their separation from the north — claims rejected by the Yemeni authorities, as they insist on preserving the country’s territorial unity.