Saudi Arabia expels Islah-run first brigade from Hadramout

HADRMOUT, Sept. 18 (YPA) – The Saudi military command has ordered the first brigade of the Islah Party-run First Military Region to withdraw from the international road linking Al-Abr area to Al-Wadeiah border crossing in Hadramout’s Wadi and Desert regions.

Sources familiar with the situation said that Saudi forces have taken control of the positions and military checkpoints the Islah faction previously held within the 23rd Mechanized Brigade, led by Abdullah Mazab, handing them over to members of the Dera al-Watan factions. This move was described as having both political and security implications.

The sources stated that the Saudi command deployed the Dera al-Watan factions in additional areas in Khashaa and the Al-Abr-Al-Aqla route towards Shabwa province, while other “emergency” groups carrying out security duties along the road leading to the Marib-based Safer oil and gas facility.

The Saudi forces are gradually deploying Dera al-Watan forces towards Marib, a move that is seen as a redistribution of roles and influence among Saudi-backed factions.

This comes within the context of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to control what it considers its “strategic depth” in Hadramout, while simultaneously opposing, during the past year, the deployment of UAE-backed forces along the main road – up to the Al-Wadeiah border crossing – and pushing Islah factions towards the battlefronts adjacent to Sanaa forces in Marib.