Hadramout (South24 Center)

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The Hadramout Tribal Alliance, led by Sheikh Amr bin Habrish, has demanded that Saudi Arabia take urgent steps to support an autonomy project for Hadramout. The call came during a mass gathering held on Saturday (April 12) in the Hadramout Plateau.

The event, organized in an open desert area, saw hundreds of Hadramis from various regions in attendance. Addressing the crowd, Sheikh Amr bin Habrish stated: "Hadramout has chosen autonomy as its minimum entitlement," adding, "We will not return under the dominance of other parties in any form."

Bin Habrish, who returned from Riyadh on March 27 after holding talks with the Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khaled Bin Salaman and other officials, directly appealed to Saudi Arabia, saying: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always stood by Hadramout. We call on them to respond to the will of the Hadrami people and support the implementation of autonomy on the ground."

These statements come as the Hadramout Tribal Alliance faces severe divisions since the Al-Uyoon meeting of March 24, where several founding members voted to remove Bin Habrish from the alliance's leadership. Opposing tribal leaders have accused him of monopolizing decision-making and turning the alliance into a personal platform, and pledged to restructure it after Eid al-Fitr.

While the opposition faction within the alliance moves to reorganize, Bin Habrish has sought to demonstrate his popular appeal and tribal support through today’s plateau gathering, following weeks of controversy and his visit to Riyadh.

Bin Habrish announced at the gathering that Hadramout would receive 500 megawatts of electricity in the first phase, with additional supplies to be agreed upon with Saudi Arabia to address power shortages—an achievement he attributed to understandings with "brothers" in the Kingdom.

Attendees chanted slogans supporting autonomy and an "independent Hadrami decision”, captured via aerial photos showing large crowds of vehicles and participants, along with a massive white banner erected on a hill overlooking the gathering. Many held aloft banners with images of Bin Habrish and Prince Khalid bin Salman.

Bin Habrish also called for recruiting fighters into the ’Hadramout Protection Forces’, a proposed military entity that has drawn warnings from the Southern Transitional Council (STC)-affiliated Second Military Region and Hadramout Coast security administration.

Today’s gathering marks the largest public demonstration organized by Bin Habrish's faction since the internal crisis threatening the alliance's dissolution began.

In parallel, Major General Faraj Salmin al-Bahsani, Vice President of the STC and member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), urged for prioritizing Hadramout’s public interest over divisions. In a statement on his official X account, al-Bahsani said: "There is no need to worry about Hadramout—its people are the most keen and loyal to it in word and deed."

He emphasized the need for a "unified vision that elevates Hadramout’s interests above all else”, stressing on dialogue and the formation of an inclusive political framework representing all parties. Al-Bahsani, Hadramout’s former governor and a key figure in the governorate, led the 2016 liberation of Mukalla from Al-Qaeda with Emirati support.

The STC supports a form of autonomy for Hadramout but within the framework of a federal southern state, its longstanding goal. During a February 25 discussion hosted by ‘South24 Center’ featuring STC official Amr al-Baid and Akram al-Amiri, Secretary-General of the Hadramout Inclusive Conference (Bin Habrish’s political wing), al-Baid called for both sides to agree on an autonomous government to deliver services and stability during this phase.