Saudi warplanes strike E. Yemen's Al-Mahrah -- source

ADEN, Yemen -- Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes on Sunday in eastern Yemen's Al-Mahrah province, a Yemeni security official told Xinhua.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the airstrikes targeted a location near the headquarters of the military axis in Ghaydah, Al-Mahrah's provincial capital.

So far, there have been no reports of casualties, said the official.

The motives behind the airstrikes remain unknown, and it is unclear whether the strikes targeted the military vehicles of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) or the personnel at the site. But there are media reports indicating the strikes were launched as STC forces in a barracks in Ghaydah refused to withdraw from the facility.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when Houthi forces captured Sanaa and large swathes of the north, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015.

Formed in 2017, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-sponsored STC seeks self-determination and eventual independence for southern Yemen. Despite joining the Saudi-led coalition and integrating into Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council in 2022, the group continues to push for southern sovereignty, leading to recurring disputes over power-sharing and control of resources.

Last month, tensions between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the STC escalated after the latter seized large parts of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, areas Saudi Arabia considers strategically sensitive due to their proximity to its border and concentration of Yemen's remaining energy resources.

On Friday, hundreds of Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops advanced toward Hadramout in a large-scale military operation aimed at expelling forces loyal to the STC and reasserting government control over the strategic region.

In the same day, the STC announced the launch of a two-year transitional period during which the council will administer the southern parts of the country, to be followed by a referendum on the independence of the south.

Meanwhile, the UAE's Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had completed the withdrawal of all its armed forces from Yemen.

On Saturday, the Yemeni government said its forces had regained full control of Hadramout, whereas Yemen's Saba news agency said STC forces withdrew from government institutions in Al-Mahrah without fighting, and pulled out of the airport and the presidential palace in Ghaydah.

An STC military official confirmed to Xinhua on Saturday that its forces had been ordered to cease fighting in Hadramout, but the group has not issued an official statement on its withdrawal from Hadramout or Al-Mahrah.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the STC welcomed Saudi Arabia's invitation to sponsor a southern dialogue conference, describing it as a practical step consistent with its long-standing commitment to dialogue.