The editor-in-chief of one of Yemen’s most well-respected newspapers, Aden Al-Ghad, revealed on Monday that a leader in the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), Yahya Ghalib Al-Shuaibi, had threatened his life. 

"If I get killed, you should know that this man has actually carried out his threat," Fathi Bin Lazraq, the paper’s editor, said in a tweet.

“I hold [Al-Shuaibi] responsible for any harm, death or injury, to me or my family,” Lazraq continued. “I am a journalist and I have no weapon but my pen, and this is a communication to the people so that an innocent person will not be accused of killing me, my killer is Yahya Ghaleb Al-Shuaibi."

Lazraq said the threats came because he refused to “be bought.” 

"I am the son of this great Yemen and I refuse to sell it to the foreigner and the stranger, this is my problem and my accusation and nothing else...I believe that Yemen is too expensive to sell and we will not sell."

The STC first took over the interim capital Aden in August, and recently declared self-administration of Aden and other governorates in southern Yemen. 

Throughout the war, Aden has been the site of dozens of assassinations, some of which have implicated the UAE and its allies. Others have targeted UAE-backed forces and those aligned with the STC.

Last week, pro-STC photojournalist Nabil Qu’aiti was assassinated in Dar Saad district, in northern Aden, by unknown assailants.

Russian Arabic-language news outlet RT announced last week that it had evacuated its correspondent Salah Al-Aqel and his family after receiving death threats.

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Edited by Ahlam Mohsen and Casey Coombs