Occupied Provinces Amid Militia Chaos and Saudi–UAE Power Struggles

The southern and eastern Yemeni provinces under foreign control are experiencing a state of chaos and armed confrontations between militias loyal to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The situation reflects the extent of external interventions destabilizing strategic Yemeni regions rich in natural resources and vital land and maritime sites.

Hadhramaut — the largest province in size and richest in oil resources — has become the epicenter of this conflict, following the arrival of military reinforcements for the Southern Transitional Council militias controlling Aden and most southern provinces. At the same time, the struggle for influence between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi intensifies across the occupied areas, igniting internal conflicts among the residents.

After Yemenis celebrated Independence Day on November 30 — marking the departure of the last British soldier from Yemen — their conviction has only grown stronger that they are capable of thwarting the plans of the new occupiers and rejecting any form of guardianship or compromise of national sovereignty over all Yemeni territory.

Massive crowds that filled Al-Sabeen Square and other provinces, raising the flag of the Republic of Yemen and chanting slogans of freedom and resistance, demonstrated the Yemeni people’s determination to continue the path of revolutionaries and martyrs — a continuation of the national liberation struggle that culminated in the glorious Independence Day on November 30, 1967.

In contrast, Transitional Council militias held a military parade in Aden’s Al-Ard Plaza under the banner of the “Southern Armed Forces,” raising the pre-unity flag and separatist slogans — a move serving the Saudi-UAE agenda, backed by a clear British shadow, aimed at fragmenting the country.

Following their separatist celebrations in Aden, Transitional Council forces moved toward the city of Seiyun as part of a plan implemented by Abu Dhabi in coordination with British and American intelligence agencies — an extension of a long series of schemes seeking to revive a colonial past that ended in defeat when the British withdrew from southern Yemen 58 years ago.

These developments are part of the Saudi-UAE struggle for influence in the southern and eastern provinces to impose a new balance of power. Hadhramaut, in particular, stands at the center of this battle due to its vast oil reserves and strategic access to the Arabian Sea — making it a key target for the new foreign powers.

As events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that Washington and London are overseeing regional efforts to impose hegemony over Yemen, plunder its oil wealth, and control its ports and maritime routes — an attempt to redraw the regional map to suit the interests of the new occupiers.

In light of these developments, the responsibility falls on all national forces — in the north, south, east, and west — to stand united against schemes aimed at dividing Yemen, and to safeguard its unity and sovereignty, for which Yemenis have sacrificed greatly throughout their struggle for independence and rejection of fragmentation in all its forms.