A leader in the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) has accused Saudi Arabia of allying with the Islah party, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, vowing that the STC will stop supporting the Saudi cause if this cooperation continues.

Ahmed Omar Bin Farid, head of the STC’s Foreign Relations Department in Europe, said the Saudi-led coalition would “lose southerners because of its silence on Islah’s practices and its tampering with the south, despite Saudi claims that the Brotherhood was banned.”

Aden is witnessing unprecedented tension between STC and Saudi forces, against the backdrop of the latter’s insistence on implementing the supplements of the Riyadh military agreement, most notably the dissolution of the UAE armed formations and their integration into Hadi’s forces.

The invading coalition relies greatly on southern Yemeni mercenaries in its battles, recruiting them through STC brokers, often taking advantage of their difficult living conditions.