MUKALLA, Yemen, Jan 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Yemen's UAE-backed separatists announced a two-year transition to independence Friday despite reporting 20 deaths in airstrikes from a Saudi-led coalition trying to roll back their weeks-long offensive across the country's south. But he warned the group would declare independence "immediately" if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen was attacked again. STC forces took much of resource-rich Hadramawt, bordering Saudi Arabia, and neighbouring Mahra province on the Omani frontier, in a largely unopposed advance last month. Further strikes targeted other sites in the region and the airport and military base in Seiyun, STC military sources and eyewitnesses told AFP. A source close to the Saudi military warned the strikes "will not stop until the Southern Transitional Council withdraws from the two governorates".

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 03, 2026 04:08 UTC