Saudi-backed forces took control of the Second Military Region Command on the outskirts of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt. AFP
Haidan told Al Jazeera that the integration process would place STC units under the authority of Yemen’s ministries of defence and interior, as part of efforts to unify the country’s military and security institutions.
Haidan said government officials were preparing to return to Yemen once security conditions in the temporary capital, Aden, are fully in place, but warned that “additional time” is still needed to finalize arrangements for a permanent government presence.
He said security in Aden was “improving steadily,” adding that what he described as a “circle of rebellion” was shrinking. Haidan cited endorsements of recent decisions by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Rashad al-Alimi from the governors of Shabwa, Abyan, and Lahij as signs of growing regional support for the internationally recognized government.
Al-Alimi announced on Saturday that all military forces operating in southern Yemen would be placed under the command of the Saudi-led coalition. Haidan said STC-affiliated forces would be redeployed and rehabilitated in a process aimed at “correcting military doctrine” and reinforcing loyalty to the Yemeni state.
STC officials have publicly rejected the plan. Faraj al-Bahsani, a vice president of the STC, told AFP on Sunday that southern forces, including separatist factions, would not agree to unite under the coalition’s command.
Al-Bahsani described the proposed unification of forces as “difficult” to achieve under the current framework.
The standoff follows a shift on the ground after Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, recaptured territory from STC fighters who had seized two key southern provinces in December.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government is a coalition of factions aligned against the Houthi rebel group, which controls much of northern Yemen and has been fighting the government and the Saudi-led coalition since 2015. Nearly a decade into the war, the Houthis remain entrenched in the north, while rival armed groups continue to compete for control in the south.
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