UAE-backed forces capture strategic camp in Hadramout after fierce clashes

HADRAMOUT, Dec. 26 (YPA) -The UAE-backed Hadrami Elite Forces have taken full control of a strategic camp in Wadi Nahb, Hadramout, which previously belonged to the Saudi-backed Hadramout Tribal Alliance led by Amr bin Habrish, following fierce clashes between the two sides in Wadi Khard that left dozens dead and wounded.

The operation came as part of moves by UAE-backed forces to expand their field presence and impose effective control on the ground.

The command of the Second Military Region, affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), said in a statement that the operation resulted in securing control over the site, which it said had been used as a center for recruiting fighters outside state institutions.

The statement added that Hadrami Elite Forces had fully encircled and secured the area, in a step that strengthens UAE influence and signals its determination not to allow any armed activity outside its chain of command — reflecting a shift in local power balances in favor of UAE-backed forces.

The operation coincided with intense armed clashes in Wadi Khard between Southern STC forces and Hadramout Tribal  Alliance forces .

Medical and security sources told local media that ambulances transported a number of casualties from the clashes to Al-Shihr Hospital in the governorate, without disclosing official figures.

This sudden escalation came just hours after an official statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry calling for “calm and restraint” and warning against the dangers of continued escalation.

The seizure of the camp represents a blow to Saudi influence in the area and demonstrates the ability of UAE-backed forces to curb rival power in the context of regional competition for influence in southern Yemen.

@E.Y.M