AFP, Al Mukalla

UAE-backed separatists accused Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemen’s internationally-recognised government, of striking their positions in Hadramawt yesterday, a day after the kingdom urged them to return recently-seized territory.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the air strikes, which raised fears of escalation after years of relative quiet in a conflict that has for more than a decade drawn in regional players such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The separatist advances have added pressure on ties between regional powers Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which support rival groups within Yemen’s internationally-recognised government.

The government is a patchwork of groups, including the separatists, held together by their opposition to the Iran-backed Houthis.

“The Saudi Air Force bombed positions of the Hadrami Elite Forces in Wadi Nahb in Hadramawt,” the separatist-affiliated Aden Independent Channel said in a social media post, referring to a group within the separatist faction.

They shared a video that showed a plume of smoke rising from the desert, with four-wheel white cars in the foreground. In December, the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council expelled other government forces and their allies from large parts of the country.