News - Yemen: UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces sent new military reinforcements on Monday to frontlines against the Saudi-backed “Hadhramawt Alliance” tribes in the Hadhramaut plateau, where both sides have been clashing for days over control of the oil-rich province.

Footage circulating online showed STC reinforcements — including armored vehicles and heavy artillery — arriving from southern areas under its control.

Armed clashes erupted Sunday after STC forces attempted to advance through Wadi Al-Adwas and Wadi Amd toward Alliance positions, coinciding with the arrival of the newly appointed Hadhramawt governor, Salem Al-Khanbashi, in Mukalla. Al-Khanbashi chaired a security meeting urging de-escalation and the preservation of stability.

Hadhramawt remains central to the STC’s secessionist project, yet it also represents its biggest challenge amid the growing influence of the Hadhramawt Alliance, which demands self-rule and rejects domination from either the north or the south.

Amr bin Habrish, head of the Hadhramawt Alliance, accused the STC of launching a “tribal invasion” with thousands of fighters from Al-Dhalea and Yafa‘, seizing camps and oil sites. In an interview with BBC Arabic, he said armed groups had taken over the Dabba area on the Arabian Sea and other coastal locations, threatening local forces. He claimed the STC is seeking to impose control over Hadhramawt’s oil under the banner of the southern project, which he said lacks local support. He added that the STC and its agenda are openly backed, armed, and financed by the UAE.

Meanwhile, STC factions began an open sit-in in Seiyun demanding the removal of the First Military Region from Wadi Hadhramawt. A statement said preparations for the protest camp were complete and that the sit-in would continue until the region’s forces withdraw and Hadhramawtis are allowed to manage their own security.

Hadhramawt’s state-run oil company, PetroMasila, announced a full shutdown of production and refining operations due to escalating insecurity around its facilities. The stated that itsany said oil tanks had reached capacity and could no longer be emptied amid rising tensions. It warned that continued instability poses a direct risk to stored oil and gas, potentially leading to catastrophic incidents.

The Electricity Corporation in Wadi Hadhramawt reported a near-total blackout after gas-powered stations went offline because fuel supplies from PetroMasila were cut.

Media outlets loyal to different coalition factions showed clear divides: the Republican Channel of Tariq Saleh and Aden Independent TV — aligned with the STC — backed the STC’s position, while Suhail TV, linked to Islah figure Hamid Al-Ahmar, avoided covering the developments.

Hadhramawt—Yemen’s largest and wealthiest governorate in terms of oil and gas reserves—had remained relatively stable during much of the Saudi-UAE occupation of the southern provinces. However, it remains a central prize for competing powers, most prominently the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) and local tribal formations, all operating within the complex landscape of the coalition of aggression.