Aden (South24)

Over the past few days, several frontlines in South Yemen have seen sustained military escalation, resulting in fatalities and injuries among the Southern Forces.

A soldier from the Shabwa Defense Forces was killed on Sunday in a Houthi drone attack on the Harib front in Marib governorate. Another soldier was killed on Saturday after a Houthi mortar round hit the Kirsh front north of Lahj.

On Wednesday, a Southern government Forces soldier was also killed and another wounded during fierce clashes with the Houthi militia on the Kirsh front, after the group reportedly pushed military reinforcements into the battlefield.

The Houthi militia also shelled Southern Forces positions on the Batar front northwest of Al-Dhalea on Wednesday with more than five mortar rounds, as Saudi drone flights continued over the governorate.

In Aden, Adviser to the Saudi Joint Forces Command Falah Al-Shahrani arrived on Tuesday, accompanied by a military delegation.

Al-Shahrani met with a number of Southern military leaders, stressing the need to contain all military formations without exception and to remove armed units from the city, alongside supporting counterterrorism efforts and coordinating to address security threats.

He also spoke of directives to relocate military camps and heavy weapons out of Aden while maintaining civilian-style security forces. Al-Arabiya TV reported the arrival of six brigades of the Nation Shield Forces into the city.

In the same context, Shabwa Governor Awad bin Al-Wazir received a Saudi military delegation on Tuesday in Ataq to discuss the overall security and military situation in the governorate.

As part of counterterrorism efforts, an expert on armed groups said a U.S. airstrike on Sunday targeted a motorcycle carrying Al-Qaeda elements in Wadi Ubaydah in Marib. South24’s correspondent also reported that an unidentified drone carried out a strike on Jabal Madhab in Shabwa, where Al-Qaeda elements are entrenched.

Browse all security and military developments from December 27, 2025 to January 8, 2026 on the interactive map.