By Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abu Shamala
ISTANBUL (AA) – The Yemeni army accused the country’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), of continuing to withhold the bodies of government-allied soldiers in the eastern province of Hadramout.
A funeral procession was held Friday in the central city of Marib for members of the First Military Region who were killed in an attack by STC forces in Hadramout.
A military statement said that the bodies of several members of the First Military Region are still held by the STC forces, without specifying their number.
There was no immediate comment from the STC on the army’s statement.
The STC forces have taken control of Hadramout province since Dec. 3, following clashes with the Hadramout Tribes Alliance and government-aligned First Military Region forces. Four days later, STC forces extended control over Mahra province, which had been under government authority.
The takeover prompted mounting local and regional calls for STC forces to withdraw from Hadramout and Mahra, which together account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory, about 555,000 square kilometers.
The UN has warned that continued escalation could have serious consequences for Yemen, which is already facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian and economic crises.