Over 30 Yemeni troops killed in Southern Transitional Council attack in eastern province, says army

By Mohammed Sameai and Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - Yemen’s army said Saturday that 32 of its officers and soldiers were killed and 45 others wounded earlier this month in an attack by Southern Transitional Council forces in the eastern Hadramout province.

The casualties were among members of the First Military Region after clashes erupted when Southern Transitional Council forces attacked army positions in Wadi Hadramout, the Defense Ministry General Staff said in a statement carried by the state-run SABA news agency. The fighting occurred on Dec. 2.

The clashes broke out after the attack targeted sites belonging to the First Military Region, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries on both sides.

The Southern Transitional Council expanded its operations the following day, attacking positions held by forces affiliated with the Hadramout Tribal Alliance before taking control of several oil fields and extending its influence across the entire wadi (riverbed) and desert areas of Hadramout.

The military said the assault had no legal or legitimate justification and aimed to destabilize security in Hadramout, which it described as a relatively stable province, warning that the move threatened liberated areas and undermined the political process and national frameworks.

The statement said some officers and soldiers remain missing, without providing a figure.

The General Staff also accused the attacking forces of killing wounded soldiers and executing detainees, describing the actions as serious violations of local and international law.

The escalation in Hadramout followed the arrival of a Saudi delegation in the province after tensions flared, in an effort to contain the situation in Yemen’s largest governorate by area.

The Saudi delegation later called for Southern Transitional Council forces to withdraw from Hadramout and neighboring Mahra, according to official statements.

- Disputes and grievances

Presidential Leadership Council Chair Rashad al-Alimi has also repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Southern Transitional Council forces from both provinces, accusing the group of “unilateral military actions” that undermine Yemen’s internationally recognized government, officials said.

The council, which controls large parts of southern and eastern Yemen, has rejected those calls. Ali Abdullah al-Kathiri, head of the council’s National Assembly, said Thursday that its forces would continue to strengthen security control in the area.

Kathiri said southern Yemen is moving toward a “just federal state” that includes all groups without exclusion, calling for reassurance of the public and what he described as clarification of facts and countering misinformation.

Militarily, cities along Hadramout’s coast, including Mukalla and the historic port city of Ash Shihr, are controlled by the Hadramout Elite Forces, which are aligned with the Southern Transitional Council. Yemen’s internationally recognized government primarily controls Marib in the northeast and Taiz in the southwest.

The Southern Transitional Council was formed in 2017 and advocates the secession of southern Yemen and a return to the pre-1990 political arrangement.

The Hadramout Tribal Alliance, established in 2013, seeks autonomy for the province along Yemen’s Arabian Sea coast and is not aligned with either the council or the government.

Yemen was unified in May 1990, but political disputes and longstanding grievances in the south later fueled renewed secessionist calls, particularly after the outbreak of the current civil war.

Despite regional and international efforts, attempts to secure peace in Yemen have failed amid the war between government forces and the Houthi group, which controls much of northern and northwestern Yemen.