CAIRO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Yemen's Saudi-led coalition said any military moves by the main southern separatist group STC in the eastern province of Hadramout that undermined de-escalation efforts would be countered to protect civilians, the Saudi state news agency reported on Saturday.
The statement from coalition spokesperson General Turki al-Malki followed a request from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, for the coalition to take immediate measures to protect civilians in Hadramout from "violations committed by armed groups affiliated with the STC".
The Southern Transitional Council (STC), backed by the United Arab Emirates, has ousted the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government from its Aden headquarters and claimed broad control across the south this month.
On Friday, the STC rejected a Saudi call to withdraw from areas it seized earlier in December, saying it would continue securing the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra.
Later, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman urged the STC in a post on X to respond to mediation efforts and resolve disputes by consensus.
"It is time for the STC to respond to Saudi-Emirati mediation efforts by ending escalation, withdrawing forces from camps in the two provinces (Hadramout and Mahra) and handing them over peacefully" to local authorities, the minister said.
"The southern issue will remain present in any comprehensive political settlement and must be resolved through consensus, honouring commitments and building trust among all Yemenis, not through adventurism that serves only the enemy of all," he added.
(Reporting by Yomna Ehab; Menna Alaa El Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly. Editing by William Mallard and Mark Potter)
