Al-Akhbar: Is Abu Dhabi replicating its Yemen strategy in Sudan?
Amid concerns about the outbreak of armed conflict and the transfer of the “rapid reaction forces” scenario to eastern Yemen, there is unprecedented tension in Hadhramaut between groups affiliated with the UAE and the coalition of tribes supported by Saudi Arabia.
Amid warnings about the transfer of the Sudanese “rapid reaction forces” scenario to Hadhramaut province in eastern Yemen, tensions between armed groups affiliated with the UAE and the “Hadramaut Tribal Coalition” supported by Saudi Arabia have intensified in the past 2 days; this has created a wave of widespread political and popular concerns about the possibility of military clashes in this oil-rich province.
According to the Al-Akhbar newspaper, these tensions began after the “Southern Transitional Council”, affiliated with the UAE, through Abu Ali Al-Hadhrami, the commander of the protection of the “Al-Hadhramiyya Elite Forces”, issued threats. Al-Hadrami attacked the formation of the “Hadramaut Protection Forces” by the tribal coalition, accusing it of implementing a foreign agenda to undermine the southern secession project that the Transitional Council has been pursuing for years. He stressed that they will not remain indifferent to attempts to impose a new reality by force of arms in Hadramaut.
Meanwhile, the tribal coalition, which is seeking autonomy in the province with the support of Saudi Arabia and is led by Sheikh Amr bin Habreesh, challenged these threats and pledged to expand its influence and control over all areas of the province.
The coalition also announced its intention to form “tribal resistance forces” and intensify field operations to expel any foreign forces or forces entering Hadramaut from outside.
The coalition stressed that the “elite forces” do not represent Hadramaut and that their forces are from other provinces.
In a statement issued yesterday, the tribal alliance gave the “Hadramaut Protection Forces” full authority to immediately take action to “repel any invading force from outside the province.” The statement also stressed that “any deployment of foreign forces in Hadramaut will be considered an occupation and will be met with military force.”
Meanwhile, the “elite forces” declared a state of alert, deploying hundreds of armored vehicles around the provincial capital of Mukalla and threatening to attack the oil plateau controlled by the tribal alliance.
On the other hand, the tribes of Hadramaut announced in a meeting held yesterday that they had entered a state of full alert and asked their military and tribal units to deploy in the plateau and the eastern borders. They also stressed that they would not allow the chaotic scenarios that have occurred in other provinces to be repeated. The tribal coalition also accused forces “backed by foreign countries” of moving towards Hadhramaut and called on Riyadh to intervene immediately to prevent the situation from exploding.