HTA calls for emergency meeting following Saudi arrest of its leader

HADRAMOUT, July 25 (YPA) – The Hadramout Tribal Alliance (HTA) on Saturday called on all tribal, military, civil, and political leaders to attend an emergency meeting in al Aleeb area of Ghail bin Yamin district of Hadramout.

In a brief statement on Facebook, the alliance said the meeting would focus on consultation over the current development and events, following the Saudi authorities’ arrest of alliance leader, Amr bin Habrash al-Alay last Wednesday at Al-Wadiah border crossing and preventing him and his escorts from returning to Hadramout.

The move came after the Saudi intelligence questioned bin Habrish, confiscated his personal phone, placed him in solitary detention at the border crossing before later transferring him to Riyadh.

Bin Habrash, who also heads the Hadramout Inclusive Conference, has been under house arrest in the Saudi capital Riyadh since being summoned in late January along with several political and military figures affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), with authorities preventing them from returning.

Saudi Arabia, through the so-called “Special Committee,” continues to manage Yemen’s southern and eastern provinces and impose a new political reality, according to the report. This follows clashes involving the STC in Wadi Hadramout and the dissolution of the Abu Dhabi-backed council, as well as the reported escape of the STC’s head Aidarous al-Zubaidi from Aden by sea to Somalia and then to the UAE, according to remarks attributed to Saudi military spokesperson Turki al-Maliki earlier this year.

AA