Saudi-funded tribal alliance deploys its factions in Hadramout strategic areas

HADRAMOUT, Nov. 12 (YPA) – The Saudi-funded tribal alliance factions have widely deployed a number of strategic areas, in a development that portends a major military escalation in Hadramout province.

A tribal source familiar with the matter said the “Hadramout Protection Forces (HPF), which were established by Saudi Arabia under the leadership of “Amr bin Habrish”, entered a state of full military alert in the areas of the Ghail Bin Yamin plateau, amid reinforcements with armed tribal forces.

This deployment came in response to the armed movements of the UAE-funded “security support” factions, which have been moving since last week to carry out a flanking maneuver towards the stronghold of the tribal alliance in Ghail Bin Yamin, following their control last month of the coastal city of Al-Hami in Al-Shihr.

The source indicated that the new deployments of the “Security Support” factions, which the UAE brought in from Aden to Hadramout last June, were focused on the tribal heartland and the stronghold of Saudi-backed factions in the highlands. This comes after the Al-Humum tribes have confronted “Security Support” elements on the outskirts of Al-Shihr in recent weeks, as they advanced towards the eastern Al-Dis district in the province.

Meanwhile, the escalation is continued with the influx of tribal fighters into the Ghail Bin Yamin highlands, equipped with various types of heavy and medium weapons, in a clear struggle for control of the region’s rich oil fields.

Military tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE are escalated through local factions, as the conflict between them has been headed towards direct armed confrontations, since the Hadramout Tribes Alliance announced last April what is called “self-rule”, and moved to establish 10 military brigades with Saudi funding and support, three of which have been launched since last June.

Saudi Arabia had sent significant military reinforcements, including over 200 vehicles, among them modern armored personnel carriers, to the HPF, led by Amr bin Habrish, who described himself as the “Supreme Commander of the HPF”, during October.

This comes amidst the complete absence of the officials of Presidential Leadership Council and the coalition-backed Aden government, highlighting the security and administrative vacuum plaguing Hadramout. The latest incident involved the abduction of almost 32 people on Tuesday by the Hadrami Elite Forces from the Al-Ramadh checkpoint in the Sah district. The checkpoint’s commander, Rashid Al-Turki Al-Jabri, was among the held, after the forces intercepted fuel tankers intended to supply electricity to the coastal districts.

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