Dispute over oil fields threatens to divide southern Yemen
Amr bin Habrish, leader of the “Hadramawt Protection Forces” militia, has declared his intention to use his forces against any government troops attempting to regain control of the oil fields.
The “National Congress of the People of the South” in Yemen has warned of plans aiming to re-divide the south of the country, as the conflict over the oil fields in Hadramawt, in the east, intensifies. Concerns are rising that tribal groups may seize control of these fields, a development that could threaten not only local security but also the stability of the entire region, according to the website 26 September Net.
In a press statement marking the 58th anniversary of the establishment of South Yemen on 30 November 1967, the Congress stated that it “condemns and denounces the policies of oppression suffered by the people of South Yemen as well as those of the North, and warns against colonial schemes seeking to return the South to the situation it was in before 30 November, whether through naming, geographic division, or political fragmentation.”
The statement, reported by the Yemeni newspaper Al-Ayyam, added that “our people and history will curse and hold accountable all those who contributed to the suffering of our people, the plundering of its wealth, the exploitation of its cause, the violation of its territorial unity and sovereignty, and those who triggered conflicts or armed confrontations to serve external goals.”
The National Congress of the People of the South called for accelerating reconciliation efforts and forming a national front that unites all patriotic forces and components of the southern movement.
This warning follows the declaration of a tribal leader, Amr bin Habrish, who established an armed militia named the “Hadramawt Protection Forces”. During a large tribal gathering held Thursday on the Hadramawt plateau, he announced his intention to use his forces against any government troops attempting to retake the oil fields controlled by Habrish-affiliated groups for nearly two years, according to the Yemeni website Bran Press.
The site warned that any attack on the Hadramawt Elite Forces’ camps by these tribal armed groups, or any weakening of this elite unit, would re-create a security vacuum and allow Al-Qaeda to return within weeks—a scenario that the Houthis could also benefit from to expand their influence eastward.
Hadramawt, endowed with significant oil resources and strategic ports, has enjoyed relative stability since the Hadramawt Elite Forces captured the city of Mukalla in 2016, with minimal terrorist activity. However, in recent months, tribal armed groups affiliated with bin Habrish have seized control of the oil fields in Wadi al-Masila and diverted petroleum products to the black market, amid indications and concerns that these groups may be indirectly coordinating with the Houthis and receiving weapons from Sanaa.
Yemen is witnessing a prolonged armed conflict between the internationally recognized government, the Iran-backed Houthis, and terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which controlled Hadramawt, the country’s largest governorate, in 2015.
