DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Separatists in southern Yemen accused Saudi Arabia on Friday of targeting their forces with airstrikes, something not immediately acknowledged by the kingdom after it warned the force to withdraw from governorates it recently took over.
The Southern Transitional Council said the strikes happened in Yemen’s Hadramout governorate. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any injuries from the strikes.
The Council’s satellite channel AIC aired what appeared to be mobile phone footage it described as showing the strikes. In one video, a man speaking could be heard blaming the strike on Saudi aircraft.
Officials in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. On Thursday, the kingdom called on Emirati-backed separatists in southern Yemen to withdraw from the two new governorates they now control, a move that has threatened to spark a confrontation within a fragile coalition that has been battling the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the country’s north for a decade.
