Aden (South24 Center)

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The Seiban tribe, one of the largest tribes in Yemen’s Hadramout governorate, has rejected plans to establish armed camps on its lands, a move that could escalate tribal tensions in the region.

The initiative to establish armed camps is led by Sheikh Amr bin Habrish, head of the Hadramout Tribal Alliance, a broad tribal coalition that is riven with internal divisions. Prominent tribal figures had in March this year attempted to remove bin Habrish from his leadership position.

In a statement issued after a tribal meeting on Sunday, the Seiban tribe declared its "absolute rejection" of the presence of any armed camps on its territory and demanded that bin Habrish "immediately halt work on the camp" and form a tribal committee to oversee the matter.

The Seiban statement came in response to reports in the media with close links to bin Habrish that had denied any disagreement on the matter.

Bin Habrish seeks to establish tribal military militias under his control under the name of the 'Hadramout Protection Forces’. The local authorities and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) have previously announced their rejection of this move.

The tribal alliance, led by bin Habrish, had in April called for autonomy in Hadramout following his return from Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.

The current developments come at a sensitive time for Hadramout, Yemen’s largest southern governorate, where local and regional forces are vying for influence.

On April 16, the Security Committee of Hadramout Governorate had warned against any military recruitment outside official state institutions, and condemned attempts by certain parties to "usurp" the state's role in the governorate.

The warning came during a meeting chaired by Hadramout Governor Mabkhout Mubarak bin Madi, which discussed the security situation amid what the committee described as attempts to establish irregular armed checkpoints and recruitment activities outside the jurisdiction of the Ministries of Defense and Interior.

In December 2024, Bin Habrish announced the formation of the ’Hadramout Protection Forces' an armed group whose existence and numbers remain unverified but which official authorities view as a threat.

Bin Habrish’s visit to Riyadh in March came in the aftermath of the March 24 Al-Uyoon meeting of the Hadramout Tribal Alliance which saw several founding members vote to remove Bin Habrish from the alliance's leadership, accusing him of monopolizing the decision-making process.

After his return from Saudi Arabia, on April 12, Bin Habrish organized a large mass meeting in the Hadramout Plateau calling for self-rule. He urged hundreds of his supporters to escalate the issue on the ground. The gathering held aloft photos of Saudi Defense Minister Khaled Bin Salman.