STC plans ‘million-man march’ in Seiyun to challenge Hadramout Tribal Alliance
HADRAMOUT, Oct. 08 (YPA) – The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) is seeking to confront the “Hadramout Tribal Alliance,” which has emerged as a prominent force on the ground since July, by organizing a demonstration dubbed “Million-Man March” in the city of Seiyun.
The head of the STC’s branch in the Wadi Hadramout districts, Muhammad Abdul Malik al-Zubaidi, stated in a video recording shared by activists on social media yesterday, Sunday, that “the STC is preparing to hold a massive rally on October 14 in the city of Seiyun to prove the true representative of the people of Hadramout.
He added that the people of Wadi Hadramout will demonstrate to the world who their true representative is through this mass rally, emphasizing that Hadramout will only be affiliated with the STC within what he referred to as a “federal south.”
The STC’s call to organize the “Million-Man March” in the city of Seiyun, comes after the confirmation by the Head of the Hadramout Tribal Alliance and Comprehensive Conference, Amr bin Habrish, during his meeting last week with the UN Deputy Envoy to Yemen, that there can be no comprehensive peace in Yemen without involving the alliance in political solution consultations as an independent party.
He emphasized the necessity for the “international community to engage with all parties regarding participation in the political process based on unified and fair criteria, away from double standards.”
The Hadramout Tribal Alliance has stepped up its local movements since the end of June against the Presidential Leadership Council, by presenting several legitimate demands for the people of Hadramout.
These demands primarily include the province’s share of natural resource revenues and establishing effective partnerships, avoiding marginalization of Hadramout and its people in various political and developmental fields.
The alliance has taken control its control over the Al-Masila oil fields and has prevented the smuggling of fuel from Hadramout to other provinces, with major support from the tribes of the province, particularly in the coastal districts under the control of UAE-backed factions.
Over the past years, the UAE has failed to establish control over the oil-rich province through its affiliated factions under the pretext of ousting the “First Military Region” forces affiliated with the Islah party, since the announcement of Operation “Eastern Arrows” in August 2022, following the expulsion of Islah forces from the city of Ataq in Shabwa and Abyan during the same year.
Saudi Arabia deployed its affiliated factions, “Dera al-Watan” forces in several Wadi districts and taken control over the Al-Abra road and the Al-Wadea border crossing, without the presence of the UAE-backed “Hadrami Elite” forces, which control the coastal districts of Hadramout.
At the beginning of this year, the UAE military command, based at Al-Riyan Airport since 2016, prevented the entry of Saudi-backed “Dear al-Watan” forces into Mukalla, based on the approval of the Hadramout governor affiliated with the coalition, Mabkhout bin Madi.
Hadramout is experiencing a real conflict between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as the latter considers it a strategic depth, amid local efforts to reduce the UAE’s influence, which controls Al-Riyan Airport and the Al-Dabba oil port on the Arabian Sea .
@E.Y.M