Reports: Saudi forces withdraw from strategic ‘Murrah” Camp in Shabwa

SHABWA, July 22 (YPA) – Informed local and media sources reported on Wednesday that Saudi forces have withdrawn from the strategic ‘Murrah’ military camp, located west of Ataq, the provincial capital of oil-rich Shabwa Governorate in eastern Yemen.

According to the sources, the commander of Saudi forces in Shabwa, Muslih al-Otaybi, directed the departure of Saudi-backed forces from the camp and handed over control to the Abu Dhabi-funded “Fourth Brigade,” commanded by Aseel Barsheed.

The sources added that the Saudi military leadership repositioned its armed elements—including emergency units—toward the front lines with Sanaa forces.

Furthermore, the sources suggested a potential return of Emirati and foreign military leaderships to the camp, following their forced departure last January after Saudi Arabia officially terminated Abu Dhabi’s role in the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen following the events in Hadramout.

The Murrah military camp, originally constructed by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, is considered one of the most prominent military bases in Shabwa. The UAE took control of the facility in early 2016 due to its strategic proximity to vital oil fields and the Balhaf gas facility, as well as its rugged mountainous terrain, fortified structures, and underground mountain tunnels.

In recent years, the UAE utilized Murrah camp as a key operational hub to manage joint military operations alongside US and Israeli occupation forces in southern and eastern Yemen, monitoring Yemeni missile strikes directed toward the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden during the Sanaa forces’ operations in support of Gaza.

YPA