Wadi Hadramawt After the STC’s Attack… Horrific Violations, Widespread Killings and Looting
Yemen Monitor / Seiyun / Exclusive:
A preliminary report on the events that occurred in Wadi Hadramawt on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, has documented a series of grave violations committed by UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces during their incursion into the region and expulsion of the internationally recognized Yemeni government forces.
According to the report, obtained by Yemen Monitor, the violations included the forcible storming of government and military institutions and seizing control using weapons, in addition to replacing the national flag with the secessionist flag inside official premises. Weapons and ammunition depots were opened and left to be looted by unidentified gangs, further threatening security and increasing chaos in the area.
Official delegations were also prevented from reaching Wadi Hadramawt, including the interception of a Saudi delegation and the governor, barring them from meeting tribal and social figures.
Transitional forces also targeted the homes of official personnel, including the Minister of Interior and the First Undersecretary of the ministry, as well as the houses of soldiers and officers. Residents were terrorized and property looted during night raids.
The assaults extended to political parties and civil society organizations. STC forces stormed the executive office of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Al-Islah) in Seiyun, looted its contents, and assaulted guards. They also stormed the Al-Badia Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Work in Qatn more than three times, using threatening language against staff.
These forces worked to spread hate speech and incite societal division using aggressive and regionalist language, increasing tension and strife within the governorate.
Violations Against Private Property
Shops belonging to merchants were broken into and their contents looted. Some merchants were forced to open their shops at gunpoint to be robbed. Vendor stalls and carts in Seiyun were also looted, and their owners’ livelihoods attacked, including livestock and household property.
Violations Against Displaced Persons
At the Maraimah camp for displaced persons, approximately 450 families from northern Yemen were completely stripped of their belongings, including wooden shelters, livestock, household tools, savings, cars, and motorcycles.
The report confirmed that these families rely on livestock and daily wage labor, making them vulnerable to severe violations affecting their human, food, and social security.
Human Casualties:
- Killed: 24 soldiers, and 7 members of the Hadramawt Protection Forces.
- Wounded: 7 cases.
- Missing: Approximately 21 persons.
- Captured Soldiers: 56.
- Forcibly Displaced Families: 20 families.
- Arbitrary Arrests: 5 documented cases.
Material Losses:
The report monitored:
- Homes: 32 completely looted, 418 partially looted.
- Looted Vehicles: Approximately 15 cars.
- Stolen Motorcycles: 22 motorcycles.
- Household Gas Cylinders: 154 cylinders.
- Livestock: 109 heads of sheep.
- Laptops: 8 devices.
- Solar Power Batteries: 45 units.
The report indicated that the bodies of the deceased remained at the Hura Bridge Junction from morning until evening, with STC militias preventing residents from moving them until the director general of the district intervened to have them transferred to Hura Hospital.
This preliminary report constitutes an attempt to document the violations against civilians, and government and private institutions in Wadi Hadramawt. It comes amidst continued armed tensions in the governorate and the persistent threat from STC forces, which continue to militarize the entire governorate and refuse calls from the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council and Saudi mediation to withdraw from the governorate and hand it over to the Sons of Hadramawt (Dir’ Al-Watan) forces.
