A Movement Sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood and a Rebellion against Legitimate Authority… What is happening in Hadramout?

The local and tribal movement in Hadramout province, eastern Yemen, has initiated a parallel political confrontation against the Southern Transitional Council, under the sponsorship and support of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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According to the London-based Al-Arab newspaper, the Hadramout General Conference and the Hadramout Tribal Alliance are opposing the policies of Yemen’s legitimate authority in the province, demanding that locally produced wealth be directed towards improving social conditions and public services for the people of Hadramout.

Backed by military militias affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood that dominate the region, the movement has rapidly escalated from social demands to political ambitions for self-rule in Hadramout, even hinting at armed rebellion. It has become a rival to the Southern Transitional Council, which holds political influence and security control over parts of the province. There are suspicions that the real goal behind establishing the Conference and the Alliance is to challenge the Council and wrest control of the strategic coastal area of Hadramout from it. The internationally recognized authority has so far shown a puzzling passivity in addressing the establishment of a parallel local authority with both political and military branches.

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Hadramout circles do not hesitate to accuse certain factions within Yemen’s legitimate authority of not only turning a blind eye to the militarization of the movement and its transformation into an armed rebellion but also providing logistical support to create a tribal armed force opposing the Southern Transitional Council’s forces stationed in parts of the province.

These circles have reported accounts from eyewitnesses observing the arrival of weapons from Wadi Hadramout, an area controlled by Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated battalions, delivered to the Hadramout Alliance and the Hadramout General Conference to support “the largest tribal rebellion driving the province into uncertainty.”

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The Wadi is militarily and security-wise under the First Military Region, which is primarily composed of forces loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Al-Tajammu Al-Yemeni Lil-Islah), a partner in the internationally recognized Yemeni authority and one of the fiercest adversaries of the Southern Transitional Council. The latter opposes their project of establishing an independent southern state encompassing several regions and provinces, with Hadramout being a primary target.

Over recent months, the Alliance has intensified its escalatory actions, including seizing oil sources, setting up checkpoints on transportation routes for crude oil and minerals, issuing signals of support for self-rule in Hadramout, and recently declaring its rebellion against the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council’s decisions and refusing to cooperate with them.

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