Major explosions rock key military camps in Hadramout

HADRAMOUT, Dec. 17 (YPA) – Powerful explosions rocked the “37th Armored Brigade” camp in the Al-Khash’a area of Al-Abar district, located in the oil-rich province of Hadramout in eastern Yemen, media sources reported on Wednesday.

Sources suggested the blasts may have resulted from “warning” Saudi airstrikes targeting Southern Transitional Council (STC) factions—backed by the UAE—which have refused to evacuate the camp and hand it over to “Dera Al-Watan” forces backed by Riyadh.

The STC factions were observed relocating tanks and heavy weaponry from the Al-Khash’a camp toward Shabwa province. This coincides with massive Saudi reinforcements arriving at the Al-Wade’ah border crossing and Al-Abar area, deployed from Aden, Lahj, and Abyan provinces, as well as training camps in Sharurah region.

These tensions follow the STC’s takeover of the First Military Region sites in the Hadramout valley and desert, as well as the Al-Ghaydah axis in Mahra province, earlier this December under an operation dubbed “Promising Future.” Saudi Arabia rejects this presence, seeking instead to empower the “Dera Al-Watan” forces in these strategic border regions.

This escalation threatens to lead to bloody confrontations as both sides struggle to consolidate influence over oil-rich areas near the Saudi border, which Riyadh considers a vital strategic and security depth for its interests.

YPA