Saudi jets prowl Yemen skies as ground forces mass in Hadramawt

Saudi fighter jets carried out intensive overflights across Yemen's Hadramawt province before dawn on Monday, dropping flare bombs around Seiyun Airport as explosions echoed across the eastern plateau.

Witnesses told The New Arab's Arabic language edition that the blasts were louder than anything heard in recent months and likely came from airstrikes, although the targets remain unclear.

The aerial escalation coincided with a major build-up of Saudi and Saudi-backed forces on the ground. Military sources say Riyadh has dispatched large reinforcements into the desert regions of Al Abr, Al Wadiyah and Zamakh and Manoukh near the Saudi border.

The deployment has continued for three weeks. The Defenseliney military website reported that as many as 12 brigades from the Saudi-backed National Shield forces and five brigades from Saudi-led coalition emergency units were now in the area, supported by armoured vehicles, artillery and other heavy weapons.

Units previously stationed on the northern Saada front have also been relocated to Hadramawt and parts of neighbouring Marib. These include formations from the Azal axis that were positioned near Baqem in Saada under the command of Brigadier General Yasser Al-Mabari.

Armoured protection and artillery have been moved to reinforce Saudi positions along the border strip between Al Wadiyah and Thamud, indicating preparations for a wider military operation.

Local medical and security sources reported the arrival of around 20 casualties from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) at Al Burj Hospital in Mukalla. The injuries followed clashes that have not been officially detailed.

In Ghail Bin Yamin, STC forces carried out overnight raids on civilian homes, detaining residents and seizing property. The raids fuelled public anger and calls for an independent investigation into alleged abuses.

These developments come as the Saudi-brokered truce with the STC expires. Over the weekend, the Saudi-led coalition warned it would support Yemen's internationally recognised government against any further separatist advances.

Coalition spokesman General Turki Al Malki said any military moves that threaten de-escalation would be met with an immediate response to protect civilians.

He reaffirmed the coalition's backing for the Yemeni government and urged all sides to show responsibility and engage with political efforts.

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman urged STC forces to withdraw peacefully from the provinces they recently seized and to hand control back to the government, describing the current moment as highly sensitive. The STC captured large parts of Hadramawt and Mahrah in recent weeks while expelling other government units and their allied tribal forces.

The United States has also called for restraint, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged continued diplomacy aimed at a lasting settlement. Washington issued the appeal after reports of Saudi air strikes on separatist positions in Hadramawt on Friday.

The STC, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates and seeks to restore the former state of South Yemen, says it will not back down.

Supporters have been holding rallies in Aden and other southern cities, urging leaders to declare independence. The group's advances have strained Saudi-Emirati relations, with both Gulf states now supporting rival factions inside the nominally unified government.

Farea al-Muslimi, of Chatham House, said the separatists had crossed Saudi Arabia's red lines and warned that the situation could deteriorate quickly.

"It is one bad thing to humiliate Saudi Arabia. And it is another, much worse thing to humiliate Saudi Arabia publicly. And that's exactly what they did," he told AFP.

Meanwhile, around fifteen thousand Saudi-backed soldiers are concentrated on the Saudi border without orders to advance, according to Yemeni military officials. Their positions sit on the edge of territory seized by the STC.