The internecine fighting in and around Aden does nothing to meet the challenges facing the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The Southern Transitional Council must not resort to arms but instead turn to dialogue to air their grievances and resolve their differences. The southern forces’ attacks on the presidential palace and government military camps will only aid the work of Al Houthi terrorists, further the long-term strategic goals of the regime in Tehran, and make the coalition’s mission more difficult.
For more than three years, Yemen has been riven asunder by the chaos unleashed by Al Houthis in their determination to shape the country to their liking and deposing the legitimate government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi in the process. It’s an insurrection that has been aided and abetted by the regime in Tehran and one that has necessitated the involvement of an international coalition of forces acting on United Nations Security Council resolutions to try and repair the damage caused by Iran and its proxy militia.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are brothers in arms, in lockstep, united and clear on their mission — exorcising Yemen of all terrorists and bringing peace and stability to the people of Yemen.
Since Al Houthis overthrew the government, they have unleashed chaos and violence, creating the conditions in which extremist groups such as Daesh and Al Qaida thrive, bringing misery and deprivation to the people of Yemen, and exposing tensions across the troubled nation. And over the past week, those tensions have come to the surface, with some 70 people reported killed in fighting in the Crater district in and around the temporary presidential palace in Aden. Presidential protection forces have come under attack from elements aligned with the southern separatist movement there. The fighting has abated but the situation in the city is tense.
This outbreak in violence is but one symptom of the mayhem wrought by Al Houthis, a conflict that has been fuelled with weapons and material supplied by Tehran to propagate the regime’s sectarian agenda. And it’s the people of Yemen who pay the price for Iran’s pursuit of hegemony in this region.
Make no mistake though, if there are those who think this violence between rivals within Aden — or indeed anywhere else across Yemen — can somehow lessen the resolve of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in bringing this mission to a successful conclusion, they are wrongly and sadly mistaken. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are brothers in arms, in lockstep, united and clear on their mission — exorcising Yemen of all terrorists and bringing peace and stability to the people of Yemen, and building a better future for our Arab brothers.
