Tom O'Connor
The sudden seizure of key positions across southern Yemen by the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a close ally of the United Arab Emirates, has drawn new international attention to the largely frozen front lines of an 11-year civil war where foreign influence has long been dominated by Saudi Arabia and Iran.
While the STC has been predominantly aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government in their fight against the Iran-supported Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, the sweeping offensive launched last week and continuing through Monday took place throughout nominally government-held territory, including the oil-rich province of Hadramawt and neighboring Mahra.
And with the Yemeni government’s influence already limited to the south due to Ansar Allah’s early northern victories that included the storming of the capital Sanaa more than a decade ago, the STC’s presence in the presidential palace in the southern de facto capital of Aden now puts the group at the forefront of the conflict and regional faultlines
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