A step in mediation and another to dismantle the Houthi opponents.. What is Oman doing in eastern Yemen?

Media reports revealed, on Sunday, a meeting hosted by the Omani capital, Muscat, between tribal sheikhs from the eastern governorates of Yemen, Al-Jawf, Hadramaut, Shabwa, and Al-Mahra, in a move that observers of Yemeni affairs considered an attempt to form a new alliance in the country.

The meeting brought together Sheikhs Amin Al-Ukaimi, Ali Al-Huraizi, Yahya Abu Auja, and tribal figures from Shabwa and other governorates, as reported in the news.

Sheikh Al-Ukaimi previously served as governor of Al-Jawf Governorate and is loyal to the Islah Party and Major General Ali Mohsen Saleh, and Abu Awja was the staff of the first military zone in Hadramaut, which is also loyal to the Islah Party and Major General Mohsen, which makes the meeting an attempt by the Brotherhood to mix the political and security cards in conjunction with international and regional efforts to push With the political process in the country moving forward, and with the efforts of the southern forces in fighting Al-Qaeda.

This meeting indicates the dual role played by the Sultanate of Oman, sometimes by playing the role of mediator in the negotiations between the Houthi militia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and sometimes by dismantling the existing alliances between the parties and anti-Houthi forces, and both of these things tend towards weakening the opponents of the Houthi militia politically and militarily.

Holding this meeting under Omani sponsorship would cast doubts about the reality of Omani support for the political process in the country, especially with the focus of regional and international attention directed towards the oil provinces, and all of the aforementioned provinces are rich in oil. By adding Marib to the four governorates, the Brotherhood in Yemen has secured its share of influence in the five oil governorates, which is what the group seeks by all means, including abandoning the main battle against the Houthi militia.

These Brotherhood efforts contradict the demands of the people in Hadramaut and Al-Mahra, which are to remove the military forces controlled by the Brotherhood from the two governorates for fear that these forces will hand over the two governorates to the Houthi militia, as they did in the governorates of Shabwa, Al-Jawf, and Ma’rib during the past years.

Major General Ali Mohsen Saleh was dismissed from his position as Vice President of the Republic in April 2022, coinciding with the formation of the Presidential Command Council, but such meetings reveal that the man exploited the recent Saudi-Omani rapprochement in the wake of the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, and used this matter to restore his influence, which had been weakened by the formation of the Presidential Command Council.

Observers considered that Islah and Major General Mohsen's progress on this path was a rapprochement with the Houthis. It is not unlikely that it would lead to them handing over their areas of influence to the Houthi militia at any time, especially with the presence of the Sultanate of Oman in the eastern governorates of Yemen due to their proximity to its borders.

المصدر: نيوزيمن