Islah Party plans to spark conflict in Hadramout coast with suspicious arms deal

MARIB, Oct. 29 (YPA) – A massive and suspicious arms deal are being arranged for the benefit of the “Hadramout Protection” factions, overseen by Sheikh Amr bin Habrish al-Ali, the head of the Saudi-backed “Hadramout Tribes Alliance”.

Sources familiar with the matter said the deal was coordinated and directly requested by bin Habrish and leaders of the Islah Party in Marib, through a merchant loyal to the Party. The deal involves the purchase of 1,000 Kalashnikov rifles. The sources indicated that a price of 2400 Saudi Riyals per piece had been agreed upon.

The entire shipment is scheduled to be transported from Marib to camps in the Hadramout plateau, specifically the Ghayl Bin Yamin area, in the coming days.

The sources directly accused Islah leaders in Marib of seeking to escalate the conflict on the Hadramout coast, amidst warnings about the dangers of transporting this arms shipment and its security repercussions.

They indicated that the arms deal was approved by the commander of the so-called “Hadhramaut Protection Forces,” Mubarak al-Awthani, who has close ties to Saudi-backed military leaders in Marib.

In a related development, other sources explained that the Saudi-led coalition command decided to send a shipment of various weapons, including advanced weaponry, to coalition factions from the al-Ruwaik camp depots east of Marib city. The shipment may be believed to include drones.

This came after Saudi forces sent dozens of military vehicles to Hadramout tribal alliance camps over the past two weeks, linking the shipment to direct Saudi military and logistical support.

AA