Yemen Monitor / Hadramout / Exclusive:
Military reinforcements belonging to the Southern Transitional Council (STC) arrived today in the Sah district, east of Hadramout (eastern Yemen), and Wadi Du’an, north of Mukalla. They halted at positions occupied by Security Support forces, just a few kilometers from the deployment of the 1st Military Region forces. This move raises fears of an imminent military escalation amid media incitement by the STC against the 1st Region.
Local sources told “Yemen Monitor” that the STC forces reached the outskirts of the Sah district in Wadi Hadramout and stopped at a location where the Security Support forces, led by “Abu Ali Al-Hadrami,” are stationed. They noted that Sah falls militarily under the 2nd Military Region, which is headquartered in Mukalla.
The sources indicated that the 1st Military Region forces prevented the STC from advancing into the Valley district, prompting them to head towards the Al-Joul area. This is part of the STC’s effort to besiege the forces of the Hadramout Tribal Alliance (HTA), which had taken control of the Petromasila company and the oil fields in the plateau northeast of Hadramout.
Matching sources revealed that the STC forces are continuing their build-up towards Mukalla, with large military reinforcements arriving in Wadi Du’an north of Mukalla. Simultaneously, forces were pushed toward the points of contact with the 1st Military Region and the Al-Adwas camp.
These military movements coincided with an escalating incitement campaign in the STC’s media against the 1st Military Region. Their platforms focused on calls for the expulsion of the Valley forces, a step that local sources linked to an attempt to create political and popular cover for any move to seize control of Wadi Hadramout.
The STC also attempted to stage an open sit-in on Al-Sitteen Street in the center of Seiyun city, in what sources described as an “attempt to create an internal pressure point to topple the city from within.” However, the 1st Military Region forces prevented their supporters from executing the sit-in, restoring relative calm to the city.
Despite the rapid developments in the east of the country, the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has not taken a clear stance on the events. Political sources suggest that this silence increases the ambiguity of the scene and leaves the door open for further tension in the oil and vital production areas of Hadramout.
Hadramout governorate has witnessed a rapid escalation since November 20 between the STC and the HTA, with military and field movements expanding toward the oil companies’ areas in the plateau, parallel to political and media moves that have heightened tensions in the Valley and Coast.
The new Governor of Hadramout, Salem Al-Khanbashi, revealed in an interview with the Saudi Al-Arabiya channel that a tribal mediation is underway to contain the situation. He affirmed that the demands of the Hadramout tribes are legitimate and that efforts are being made to de-escalate and prevent the governorate from sliding into chaos.
