National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
Mohammed Abdul Malik, head of the Southern Transitional Council in Wadi and Hadramawt Desert, said that "seven raids targeted our camp in Al-Khasha, and there were dead and wounded among our forces."
Salem Al-Khanbashi, the Hadramawt governor who took over as commander of the Homeland Shield forces in the province on Thursday, stated on Friday that attacks and ambushes targeted the peaceful movement of the Homeland Shield Forces, prompting airstrikes against the attacking forces and those carrying out the ambushes.
He also appealed to the people of Hadramawt not to attack or ambush the Homeland Shield Forces during their peaceful movement.
Al-Khanbashi said the operation did not target civilians or political groups and aimed to neutralise weapons and prevent military camps from threatening Hadramawt’s security and stability during a “sensitive period.”
Homeland Shield is a reserve military unit established by Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in 2022 as part of the government’s armed forces, primarily active in the eastern provinces of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra.
The Southern Transitional Council forces have swept through the south of Yemen in December, taking most of resource-rich Hadramawt province and swathes of neighbouring Mahrah.
On Wednesday, the STC announced that it has agreed to a deal with the internationally recognized government, allowing Homeland Shield forces to deploy in areas recently secured by the STC in Hadramawt and Al-Mahra provinces.
STC spokesperson Mohammed Al-Naqeeb confirmed that the First Brigade of Homeland Shield redeployed to the Thumayr area that day, with other units following to specified regions under the agreement
On Tuesday, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, declared a state of emergency and cancelled a security pact with the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Alimi also directed Homeland Shield to take control of sites held by STC separatists in southern Yemen.
He ordered the STC to hand over the territory to Yemeni forces, calling the separatists' advance an "unacceptable rebellion" in a televised address.
The announcements by Al-Alimi came after the Saudi-led coalition said it struck a "UAE weapons shipment destined for separatists."
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia accused Abu Dhabi of supporting southern separatists and demanded that the UAE end all military presence in Yemen within 24 hours.
Hours later, the UAE, which rejected the Saudi accusations that it was arming separatists as "fundamentally inaccurate," announced the voluntary end of its counter-terrorism mission in Yemen, withdrawing its remaining specialized teams from the country.
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