DUBAI: Yemen’s main southern separatist group rejected on Friday a Saudi call for its forces to withdraw from areas it seized earlier in December, saying it will continue securing the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Mahra. Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it remains hopeful the Southern Transitional Council (STC) will end an escalation and withdraw its forces from the provinces, after the group claimed broad control of the south and pushed the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government from its headquarters in Aden. The group said in a statement posted on its account on X that its military operations in the two provinces were to combat security threats, including cutting supplies to the Iran-aligned Houthi militants who control the north of the country. Situated between Saudi Arabia and an important shipping route on the Red Sea, Yemen was split into northern and southern states until 1990. In Hadramout, an escalation of fighting on Thursday killed two people from the STC’s Hadhrami Elite Forces, the group said in its statement. Armed groups had ambushed STC forces in the Ghail bin Yamin area in the east of the province, but the forces managed to regain control of the area, a source from the group- speaking on condition of anonymity- told Reuters. Saudi airstrikes followed early on Friday, targeting the STC forces in the area, the source added. The STC said the “surprising” airstrikes will not “serve any path to an understanding, nor will they deter the people of southern Yemen from continuing their struggle to restore their full rights.” Saudi Arabia did not confirm the strikes.