The Yemeni News Agency said on Friday that the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, issued a decision assigning the Governor of Hadhramaut, Salem Al-Khanbashi, to assume the general command of the National Shield forces in the governorate.
The official agency stated that the decision grants Al-Khanbashi “full military, security, and administrative powers to achieve the restoration of security and order in the governorate”.
It added that the decision stipulates that the assignment will end “once the reasons that led to it cease, or upon the issuance of a decision by the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, canceling this assignment”.
In a recorded speech following his appointment, Al-Khanbashi confirmed that the Southern Transitional Council deliberately rejected all responsible solutions aimed at de-escalation. He pointed out that STC forces had prepared plans intended to create widespread chaos in Hadhramaut.
He also announced that the National Shield forces had launched a military operation called “Receiving the Camps,” aimed at taking over military sites in a peaceful and organized manner. He added that “the military operation is not a declaration of war, but a responsible preventive measure”.
He further stressed that “the operation does not target any political or social component, nor civilians” in Hadhramaut.
This came after the National Field forces had expressed their readiness on Thursday to take over military sites and checkpoints from the Southern Transitional Council forces in Hadhramaut and Al-Mahrah.
