Cautious calm and anticipation prevail in southern Yemen, as key parties await an announcement by the Southern Transitional Council on the fate of its forces in Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, amid the council’s growing refusal to withdraw them, according to multiple concordant sources.
On the ground, Hadramawt on Monday saw demonstrations in which slogans supporting the Southern Transitional Council were raised, alongside calls for popular mobilization in support of demands to declare a “State of South Arabia.”
This activity adds political and popular pressure on the trajectory of any potential security arrangements in the region.
At the same time, reports are circulating that the Southern Transitional Council has put forward a proposal aimed at easing tensions and avoiding a direct confrontation among parties that currently share the anti-Houthi front.
According to informed sources cited by Alhurra, the proposal includes the council’s readiness to form a joint force in Hadramawt, on the condition that it include units from the “Nation’s Shield” formation composed exclusively of southern fighters.
These developments coincide with reports of military deployments by Yemeni forces loyal to Riyadh near the Saudi-Yemeni border, suggesting that the option of military pressure remains on the table, albeit “suspended” pending developments on the political track.
The reports come alongside unconfirmed information circulated by Yemeni websites indicating the arrival of a new Riyadh-aligned military formation at the border, largely composed of Salafi units from northern provinces — a claim Saudi Arabia has neither confirmed nor denied.
Diplomatically, the same period witnessed notable regional contacts. Communications took place between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran addressing Yemen and broader regional developments, signaling a desire by both sides to keep the Yemen file within the framework of wider dialogue. These contacts coincided with Iranian outreach to Abu Dhabi regarding overall regional conditions.
On the other side, remarks by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Sunday added a new layer of regional escalation, as he linked Yemen’s security and that of the Red Sea to developments in the Horn of Africa, warning that any Israeli presence there would become a “target” in the context of the conflict. He did not address developments in Hadramawt and Al-Mahra.
These developments came two days after Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman called on the Southern Transitional Council in Yemen to de-escalate and withdraw its forces from camps in Hadramawt and Al-Mahra, urging all sides to “let reason prevail.”
In the same context, the official spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Turki al-Malki, said military movements that undermine de-escalation efforts would be addressed in order to protect civilians.
For its part, the Southern Transitional Council issued a statement affirming its openness to any coordination or arrangements that safeguard shared interests with Saudi Arabia. The council said that “the puzzling airstrikes will not serve any path toward understanding and will not deter the people of the south from moving forward to restore their full rights,” even as Saudi Arabia has not confirmed carrying out airstrikes.
