The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is calling for the secession of southern Yemen, has moved on Sunday in collaboration with Al-Qaeda elements against the tribes in Lahj province that do support Yemeni unity.
Al-Qaeda’s branch in the province distributed a statement by the so-called “Amir of the state”, threatening Sheikh Ali Obaid Al-Azibi, the most prominent sheikh of the Sabr district, saying they would use booby traps, silencers and explosive devices to fight the tribe. The statement also “accused” al-Azibi of being loyal to the National Salvation Government in Sana’a.
The Al-Qaeda move came in the wake of the failure of the UAE-backed STC to storm Sabr in order to arrest al-Azibi, who advocates for national unity.
Mobilising terrorist elements in the face of those calling for unity reflects an attempt to terrorise people and influential personalities in preparation for the subjugation of the province, in which the STC is suffering from its rebellion against its authority in Aden.
