Published On 31/12/2025
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Last update: 21:01 (Mecca time)
Today, Wednesday, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, warned of the repercussions of unilateral military movements in Hadramaut and Al-Mahra. On the other hand, the Southern Transitional Council renewed its rejection of Al-Alimi’s decisions, and confirmed that its forces will remain in their positions and are ready to confront any threat.
Al-Alimi confirmed – during his meeting with the US Ambassador to Yemen, Stephen Fagin – that the unilateral military movements witnessed in the governorates of Hadramaut and Al-Mahra represent a serious threat to the unity of the military and security decision, and a clear undermining of the legal status of the state.
The Chairman of the Yemeni Leadership Council stressed that combating terrorism is a sovereign decision of the Yemeni state exercised by its competent institutions, and the Yemeni forces, with the support of the United States, and regional and international partners, have achieved tangible successes in this file, warning against using this title as a pretext to justify imposing a fait accompli by force, or undermining state institutions.
Al-Alimi said, “These moves require a firm international position that supports constitutional and legal measures.” He called on the international community to actively contribute to translating Yemeni sovereign decisions into practical measures within the UN Security Council.
Al-Alimi explained that the request to leave the Emirati forces that have deviated from the basics of the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen is a natural sovereign demand, aimed at protecting the idea of the coalition and preserving Yemeni and Saudi national security. Al-Alimi warned that any disturbance in the eastern governorates would disrupt oil exports and hinder the payment of salaries.
Limited response
For his part, the Governor of Hadhramaut, Salem Al-Khanbashi, said that the response of the Southern Transitional Council to the government’s request to withdraw its forces from the areas it seized in Hadhramaut is still limited.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Al-Khanbashi called on the Southern Transitional Council to withdraw its forces from Hadramaut and return them to where they came from, expressing his desire not to shed any drop of blood.
Earlier, the director of Al Jazeera’s office in Yemen, Saeed Thabet, confirmed that forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council are still present on the ground in Hadramaut and Al-Mahra, and that the “National Shield” forces are preparing to take over the sites, but so far there is no indication of real field withdrawals.
“Ready for confrontation”
On the other hand, the Southern Transitional Council renewed its rejection of the decisions of the Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council. Stressing that his forces remain in their positions and are ready to confront any threat.
Earlier today, the military spokesman for the Southern Transitional Council forces, Muhammad Al-Naqib, said, “His forces are ready and steadfast in the southern governorates, to confront any threats, protect the citizens and the people, and defend their gains.”
The captain explained, in a post on the “X” platform, that the confrontation is not limited to the field only, but rather extends to a battle of awareness in the face of what he described as media misinformation campaigns.
The captain said that what he called “rumor” campaigns reflect the failure of the hostile forces, after their failure on the ground.
Developments of events
At dawn on Tuesday, the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, announced that it had aerially bombed weapons and combat vehicles after they arrived from the port of Fujairah on board two ships to the port of Mukalla, which is under the control of the Transitional Council.
Saudi Arabia said, on Tuesday, that its national security is a “red line,” and that “the UAE pushed the forces of the Southern Transitional Council to carry out military operations” on the kingdom’s southern border in the Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra governorates in eastern Yemen.
However, the UAE Foreign Ministry denied, through a statement, what it said were “allegations” regarding it directing a Yemeni party to carry out military operations that affect the security of Saudi Arabia, stressing its concern for the security of the Kingdom.
Later, the UAE Ministry of Defense announced the end of the tasks of “the remainder of its anti-terrorism teams in Yemen,” and that in 2019 it ended its military presence, within the coalition to support legitimacy.
Since early December, the Southern Transitional Council forces have controlled Hadramaut and Al-Mahra, which constitute about half of Yemen’s area (about 555 thousand square kilometers), and have rejected local and regional calls for withdrawal.
