Saudi Arabia prepares for military decisiveness in Yemen

Informed media sources revealed that Saudi Arabia is seeking to reorganize its alliances with Yemeni tribal leaders opposed to the Houthi alliance and the ousted president Saleh, in preparation for an attempt to restore the provinces of Hodeidah and Sanaa in northern Yemen, in a move that reveals that the option of better military discount, according to two Yemeni experts.
 
The Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, received in Riyadh, Wednesday, a number of the most prominent sheikhs of the Yemeni tribes, most of them leading the popular resistance, which is fighting Houthis and Saleh on the northern frontiers.
 
Unlike its earlier alliances with sheikhs of Hashid tribe, led by the Al-Ahmar house, which has become a pure Houthi square, Riyadh has rearranged its tribal alliances in Yemen. The tribal figures present include Sheikh Farah Bahib, from Marib.

This is the first high-level meeting since the outbreak of the Yemeni civil war on 26 March 2015.
 
In a speech to the attendence, Mohammed bin Salman stressed Saudi support for Yemeni tribes in the war on Iran's arms in Yemen and the region, praising Yemen as "the depth of the Arabs." He pointed out that all the roots and ethnicities of the Arab races are due to Yemen.
 
The Riyadh meeting revealed the Saudi strategy for the third year of the war, according to observers who explained that the future battles to restore the provinces of Hodeidah and Sanaa, one of the main reasons that the Kingdom called for this meeting.
 
Since the outbreak of the war, the Yemeni tribes have fed all the warring parties with their own fighters, including the Houthis and Saleh. This is what Saudi Arabia seems to have resorted to this year, especially since its previous alliance with Al-Ahmar house did not achieve the expected results during the battles.

The Kingdom has succeeded in previous decades through this type of polarization, but many analysts believe that the picture has changed somewhat today, especially under the strict grip imposed by the Houthis on all tribes, in the far north of Yemen, through the harassment of Sheikhs or threats and bombing Their homes and their displacement.
 
"The Riyadh meeting reveals the desire of Saudi Arabia to reorganize its alliances in Yemen to confront Houthi and his ally Saleh, especially with the announcement of preparation for the battle to restore the province of Hodeidah and its strategic port, and the subsequent steps towards the military escalation in the vicinity of Sanaa," journalist Ahmed al-Zarqa said.
 
Al-Zarqa added that the meeting was delayed a lot, but it can not be relied upon very much if it does not come out with a clear and definite agreement. In the absence of any agreement, this affects the Kingdom's relationship with the symbols of these tribes, he said. The Saudi Special Committee is a staff headed by Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz , The former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and includes dozens of prominent tribal sheikhs in different Yemeni provinces, the most prominent allies of Riyadh in Yemen at the present time, Al-Zarqa stated.
 
Yemen's tribal leaders have had considerable influence at the expense of state institutions, making Riyadh keen to strengthen relations with them over the past years.

According to Yemeni political expert Faisal al-Majidi, Saudi Arabia's reliance on Yemeni sheikhs is largely short of the previous stage.
 
He stressed in an interview with the Anatolia Agency that Saleh strengthened the authority of these sheikhs at the expense of state institutions, and I believe that dealing with sheikhs has become cautious by the Kingdom."
 
Al-Majidi expressed his belief that Mohammed bin Salman's meeting with the sheikhs reflects a Saudi approach and a desire to extrapolate the reality towards a military solution, after the political process has become useless with the Houthi and Saleh militias.
 
"The decision that will be issued from that meeting will not be a relinquishment of official state powers, but an attempt by Saudi Arabia to arrange the social situation in Yemen," he said.

It seems that the issue of military decisiveness was strongly present at the Riyadh meeting between Mohammed bin Salman and the tribal sheikhs of Yemen, who at the same time lead factions of popular resistance and military brigades on the burning fighting fronts between the Saudi-led Arab forces and forces loyal to President Hadi against Houthis.