Yemen Monitor / Lahj / Exclusive:
A military brigade belonging to the dissolved Southern Transitional Council (STC) honored a number of its soldiers on Wednesday in the Radfan district of Lahj Governorate (southwestern Yemen), who it claimed “stood firm” during the military confrontations witnessed in Hadramaut.
Media outlets affiliated with the (dissolved) STC reported that the leadership of the 5th Support and Reinforcement Brigade—led by Mukhtar al-Nubi, one of the most prominent military leaders close to Aidarous al-Zubaidi—honored soldiers who “held their ground” at the Al-Khash’a site in Wadi Hadramaut during battles against Yemeni government forces.
The reports stated that the Chief of Staff of the 5th Support and Reinforcement Brigade, Brigadier General Mohammed Saleh al-Hujaili, honored the “heroes of the Al-Khash’a site who embodied the slogan ‘Stand Firm, Men’ amidst aerial bombardment.”
The ceremony took place in the Radfan area in the presence of the Commander of the STC’s 13th Thunderbolt (Sa’iqa) Brigade, Ali al-Nubi, his Chief of Staff Majid Thabit Ali, and other military and security leaders who are publicly maintaining their allegiance to the STC.
The Al-Khash’a area, located in northern Wadi Hadramaut near the Saudi border, was the site of the first clashes between the “Nation’s Shield” and Army Emergency forces on one side, and STC military units on the other. This conflict saw intervention by Coalition warplanes, which bombed STC forces in early January.
This military honoring comes after the announcement of the success of the “camp takeover” operation. The Yemeni Presidency previously stated it had completed the handover of brigades formerly belonging to the STC to the Nation’s Shield forces, which are commanded by the President of the Presidential Leadership Council.
Analysts view the public military appearance of STC forces to honor soldiers from the “Hadramaut incursion” as a new challenge to the Presidency and to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia currently hosts STC leaders who had announced the dissolution of the Council and all its military and security wings following the flight of its president, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, to the UAE.
