The Governor of Yemeni Shabwah province, Mohammed Saleh bin Adeow, reaffirmed that Saudi Arabia has played a positive role in preserving the country’s internationally-recognized public institutions.
During recent escalations in Shabwah, Saudi Arabia dispatched a detachment to stabilize the situation.
Adeow, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, called on all Yemeni political components to emphasize wisdom and reason through dialogue.
During his stay in Riyadh, Adeow gave details on the final hours in the lead up to the battle with the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a secessionist organization. The battle ended with the internationally-recognized government regaining the upper hand in Shabwah through military force.
The governor explained that the conflict with the STC was an extension to the standoff in Aden, Abyan, and neighboring governorates, and noted that there were previous agreements with the separatists to work in the best interest of Shabwah.
“For the past nine months, there has been good coordination with the STC, but we recently felt they were compelled to open a new front in Shabwah, where they have been armed since February 2019,” Adeow said, explaining that the STC was working to make up for its loss in Aden.
Speaking on the Saudi role in stabilizing Shabwah, Adeow said that a detachment was sent to the province upon request. It intervened on the last day before clashes erupting with the STC.
The military division, which is still present in the province to this day, is tasked with monitoring field realities and reporting to the Arab Coalition command center.
According to Adeow, although the detachment is not engaged in combat, the monitoring is beneficial in the sense of preventing misinformation.
The governor stressed that local authorities faced a security challenge when it came to imposing state order and influence over the entire territory of Shabwah, but they worked to fill the vacuum through the deployment of army and security forces across all districts gradually, improving the situation day by day.
