One soldier killed, two injured in shootout outside Saudi-controlled camp in Mukalla

MUKALLA, June 30 (YPA) – One soldier was killed and at least two others were injured on Tuesday following gunfire and a stampede outside the gate of ‘Al-Rabwa’ camp, which is controlled by Saudi Arabia in the city of Mukalla, located in the oil-rich eastern Yemeni province of Hadramout.

The incident occurred during a protest by hundreds of “Hadrami Elite” soldiers—previously funded by the UAE—outside the camp’s gate to demand their overdue salaries following their dismissal by Saudi forces. Local sources reported that the camp’s gate guards, belonging to the Saudi-backed “Dera Al-Watan” forces, fired live ammunition to disperse the protesters following physical assaults against them.

For its part, the command of the Saudi-backed “Second Military Region” acknowledged the incident but attributed the casualties to “overcrowding and a stampede resulting from the presence of more than 12,000 soldiers who gathered to meet a ministerial committee tasked with auditing personnel data.”

The incident has sparked widespread public anger across Hadramout amid fears of a military escalation, reflecting ongoing tensions between the “Hadrami Elite” soldiers and the Saudi-backed forces that seized control of the province’s military camps in early January.

YPA