Tariq Saleh, commander of the pro-UAE mercenary factions, has on Thursday sent new military forces to Aden in defiance of the UAE-Southern Transitional Council (STC), which threatened to arrest him and expel his forces.
According to local sources, a military convoy comprising of several armoured vehicles and military pickup vehicles arrived at Camp Tariq in Bir Ahmed at dawn.
The reinforcements came a day after the STC Chief of Staff, Moeen al-Megrahi, said in a news statement that his forces would not hesitate to arrest Tariq Saleh if he continues to deploy his forces in the city.
Al-Megrahi confirmed that the factions would manage to expel Saleh’s forces from Aden, noting that they arrested officers affiliated with Tariq Saleh who were trying to enter the city.
Earlier, Tariq Saleh’s forces launched a new campaign of arrests against members of the STC, in Shabwah province in southern Yemen, a few hours after the STC militias captured about 20 officers and soldiers loyal to the Riyadh-formed Presidential Council in the city of Aden.
The infighting amongst various coalition-backed mercenary forces has reached new levels of complexity. It now seems not only are there conflicts between Saudi-backed troops and UAE-backed separatists, but even amongst various Emirati-led groups. Tariq Saleh himself was for years a major ally of the United Arab Emirates and their various mercenary militias, but now seems to engage in conflict against some of them.
