"In an unusually short period of time, three successive statements were issued within a single context, beginning with an official Yemeni request from President Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, the governing body of the internationally recognised government. This was followed by an operational response from the Saudi-led coalition, and then a political message by the Saudi minister of defence that defines the moves on the ground and the directions they take."
"The sequence suggests an arrangement that uses Yemeni legitimacy as the political framework for a Saudi move aimed at restraining the expansion of an ally advancing eastward, while at the same time reducing the Houthis' chances of exploiting any rift within the opposing camp. This is why the weight of the three statements exceeded their words, as they moved the crisis from an open tug-of-war to a clear path based on an official request,"
An official Yemeni request from President Rashad al-Alimi triggered rapid successive moves. A Saudi-led coalition executed an operational response, followed by a political message from the Saudi defence minister that delineated limits and directions. The sequence employed Yemeni legitimacy as the political framework for a Saudi action aimed at restraining an ally advancing eastward and reducing Houthi opportunities to exploit internal divisions. The three statements shifted the crisis from an open tug-of-war to a defined course rooted in an official request, field response, and political boundary-setting. Hadramout's oil and gas assets and border crossing, and al-Mahra's control of ports and routes, make eastern tensions a regional border-security and economic concern with spillover risks.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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